Bodycam Released In Officer Krystal Rivera Shooting
- Newly released bodycam footage shows the final moments before Chicago police Officer Krystal Rivera was fatally shot. - The release follows an appellate court decision overruling a Cook County judge's protective order blocking the footage. - The footage could influence public reaction and ongoing investigations into the shooting (patch.com).
Chicago’s police watchdog has released body-camera footage showing Officer Krystal Rivera being fatally shot by her partner during a June 5, 2025 foot chase in Chatham. (chicagocopa.org) The Civilian Office of Police Accountability, or COPA, posted the videos and reports on April 17, 2026, after a court order that had blocked release since June 13, 2025 was vacated on March 27, 2026. (chicagocopa.org) The footage shows Rivera and Officer Carlos Baker chasing a man later identified by prosecutors as Jaylin Arnold into an apartment building near 82nd Street and Drexel Avenue. On the second floor, Baker fires one shot as Rivera runs behind him, and she collapses in the hallway. (news.wttw.com) COPA’s release answers a fight over secrecy that lasted for months in Cook County court. An Illinois appellate panel said Judge Barbara Dawkins used the wrong law when she denied media efforts to lift the protective order, though the judges also said the city could still try to withhold records on other grounds. (patch.com) The new video also sharpens a central dispute about what Baker did after the shot. WTTW reported the footage shows Baker waited about two minutes before responding to Rivera, while Baker’s lawyer, Tim Grace, said Baker “did everything in his power and training” and acted within department policy. (news.wttw.com) CBS Chicago reported Rivera’s family has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit that calls Baker reckless and unfit for duty. The suit also says Rivera and Baker had a prior romantic relationship, that Rivera asked to be separated from him at work, and that he intentionally failed to help her after the shooting. (cbsnews.com) Baker has been relieved of his police powers, and COPA said its investigation remains open. WTTW reported Baker’s attorney said the gun discharged unintentionally and blamed the chain of events on the armed people the officers encountered inside the building. (news.wttw.com) What had been described for months in court filings and police statements is now visible frame by frame: Rivera enters the building alive, follows her partner up the stairs, warns “careful,” and is dead seconds later. (cbsnews.com)
