Bodycam Reveals Officer Rivera's Final Moments

Chicago’s police watchdog released body-camera video 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 was killed on June 5, 2025, near 8200 South Drexel after officers chased a suspect into a Chatham apartment building. COPA posted body-worn camera video, third-party video, radio traffic, tactical response reports and case reports. (chicagocopa.org) NBC Chicago reported Rivera, 36, and Officer Carlos Baker were pursuing Adrian Rucker when Baker kicked in an apartment door and encountered another man who appeared to be holding a gun. A gunshot followed, and Rivera was hit in the back. (nbcchicago.com) The footage became public more than 10 months after the shooting because a June 13, 2025 protective order in *People v. Adrian Rucker* had blocked release. Illinois appellate judges vacated that order on March 27, 2026, and COPA released the material three weeks later. (chicagocopa.org, patch.com) The court fight centered on whether a judge in a criminal case could stop a city agency from releasing public records. The appellate panel said the trial court had applied the wrong law, while leaving open the possibility of narrower future motions for a protective order. (patch.com) The newly released video adds a disputed detail that was not visible in early public accounts: Baker moved up a stairwell after the shot and did not get back to Rivera immediately. NBC News reported he returned to her after 1 minute and 44 seconds; the Chicago Sun-Times said the footage shows more than 90 seconds passed before he checked on her. (nbcnews.com, chicago.suntimes.com) Baker told investigators he did not realize he had fired the fatal shot until later, according to the Sun-Times and NBC News. His attorney, Timothy Grace, said Baker was facing “the lethal end of a rifle” and that the gun discharged unintentionally as he moved for cover. (chicago.suntimes.com, nbcnews.com) Rivera’s family has taken the opposite view in court. A wrongful-death suit filed in December 2025 alleges Baker turned and shot Rivera, failed to call for help immediately, and had a disciplinary record that should have kept him from working with her. (nbcchicago.com, patch.com) NBC News reported Baker has not been charged with a crime. COPA and the courts have now made the video public, but the legal fights over how Rivera died and who is responsible are still moving through separate investigations and civil litigation. (nbcnews.com, chicagocopa.org)