Bodycam Shows Final Moments of Slain Officer Rivera

Body camera video released on April 17 shows Chicago Officer Krystal Rivera being fatally shot by her partner during a foot chase on the South Side. (chicagocopa.org) The Civilian Office of Police Accountability said Rivera was killed on June 5, 2025, near 8200 South Drexel after a court order had blocked release of the footage for more than 10 months. That order, entered in the criminal case against Adrian Rucker, was vacated on March 27, 2026. (chicagocopa.org) Video from Officer Carlos Baker’s camera shows him and Rivera chasing a man into a Chatham apartment building, running up stairs, and reaching a second-floor unit. When Baker kicks in the door and another man appears with what news outlets described as a rifle, Baker turns and fires, striking Rivera, 36, who was behind him. (nbcchicago.com) The footage also shows Baker running up the stairwell and radioing “shots fired at police” before returning to Rivera. NBC News reported he got back to her after 1 minute, 44 seconds, while WTTW said the delay was about two minutes. (nbcnews.com, news.wttw.com) The release matters because the video settled a basic question that had lingered in public view since last summer: Rivera was not shot by a suspect but by another Chicago police officer. Media organizations, including the Chicago Sun-Times, NBC Chicago, the Better Government Association and Jamie Kalven of the Invisible Institute, had fought in court to make the records public. (chicagocopa.org, docs.publicnow.com) The appellate court said Cook County Judge Barbara Dawkins had wrongly kept the material under seal in People v. Adrian Rucker. COPA then published body-worn camera video, third-party video, radio traffic, tactical response reports and case reports on its website. (docs.publicnow.com, chicagocopa.org) Rivera’s family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit in December 2025 against Baker, the Chicago Police Department and the city. The suit alleges Baker turned and shot Rivera in the back, failed to call for help right away, and had been her former romantic partner. (nbcchicago.com, cbsnews.com) Baker’s attorney, Tim Grace, said Friday that Baker’s gun “unintentionally discharged” and that his client “did everything in his power and training to render aid.” Grace also said two armed men in the building, not Baker, were responsible for the chain of events that led to Rivera’s death. (news.wttw.com, nbcnews.com) COPA’s investigation is still open, and Baker has not been charged with a crime. Ten months after Rivera’s death, the public now has the video that courts, reporters and her family had been fighting to see. (news.wttw.com, nbcnews.com)