Body-Cam Footage Reveals Officer Rivera's Final Moments

Chicago’s police oversight agency released body-camera footage on April 17 showing Officer Krystal Rivera being fatally shot by her partner during a 2025 foot chase. (chicagocopa.org) The Civilian Office of Police Accountability said Rivera, 36, was killed on June 5, 2025, near 8200 South Drexel in Chatham after a court order had blocked release of the records since June 13, 2025. (chicagocopa.org) NBC Chicago reported the footage shows Rivera and Officer Carlos Baker chasing suspect Adrian Rucker into an apartment building, up a stairwell and toward a unit door Baker kicked open. (nbcchicago.com) When the door opened, video showed a man inside with what appeared to be a firearm, a shot rang out, and Rivera dropped in the hallway behind Baker. Baker then radioed “shots fired at the police,” according to NBC News and NBC Chicago. (nbcnews.com, nbcchicago.com) NBC News reported Baker returned to Rivera after 1 minute, 44 seconds and dragged her from the second floor to the first as backup arrived. (nbcnews.com) The videos became public only after the Illinois Appellate Court, First District, vacated the protective order on March 27, 2026, in People v. Adrian Rucker. COPA posted the court order and appellate decision with the case file. (chicagocopa.org, illinoiscourts.gov) The appellate panel said the trial court used the wrong law to block a nonparty agency from releasing public records, but it did not order automatic disclosure in every circumstance. Patch and the court order both described that narrower ruling. (patch.com, illinoiscourts.gov) Rivera’s family sued the City of Chicago in December 2025, alleging Baker turned and shot her in the back and failed to call for immediate help. The complaint also said Baker had 11 misconduct complaints before the shooting. (nbcchicago.com, patch.com) Baker has not been charged with a crime, and prosecutors have described the shooting as under investigation as an accidental or unintentional discharge. His lawyer, Timothy Grace, said Baker was facing the muzzle of a rifle when he moved for cover and did not know his weapon had fired into Rivera. (nbcnews.com, nbcchicago.com) The release closes a 10-month fight over whether the public could see how Rivera died, but the civil case and the investigation into Baker’s shot are still unresolved. (nbcchicago.com, chicagocopa.org)