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CHICAGO (WLS) — The ABC7 I-Team has been diligently analyzing the video footage that captures the tragic moments leading to the fatal shooting of Chicago Police Officer Krystal Rivera.
On Friday, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability released video evidence that documented the incident where Officer Krystal Rivera was inadvertently shot by her partner, Carlos Baker, last June.
The footage is distressing, showing Officers Krystal Rivera and Carlos Baker in pursuit of a suspect into an apartment building in the Chatham neighborhood during the summer. This pursuit led them through what experts call a “fatal funnel,” a situation fraught with danger. At that time, police believed the suspect was armed. The video reveals Baker firing a shot that accidentally struck Rivera, resulting in her death. Lawyers representing Rivera’s family argue that the video poses significant questions about the incident.
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The video from Officer Baker’s body-worn camera reveals the officers approaching the building at around 9:50 p.m. on June 5, 2025, situated in the 8200 block of South Drexel Avenue in Chicago’s Chatham area.
Both officers can be seen instructing a man to display his hands before they enter the building. They pursued the individual as he entered an apartment.
Rivera was directly behind Baker in the narrow hallway.
Baker kicked down the door as the suspect flipped over the couch. Then another man is seen, in surveillance video released by COPA, exiting a room with a long gun in hand
Baker appeared to react, turning and firing one shot. Rivera then fell to the ground. Baker is seen going up the stairs, calling in “shots fired” and asking for an ambulance.
About two minutes later, Baker can be seen going to check on his partner before additional units arrived to transport her.
ABC7 Police Affairs Consultant Bill Kushner told the I-Team, “We call that a fatal funnel. Those buildings are literal, just kill zones. Every, every, every staircase is a kill zone, and there’s no good way to get into any apartment or chase anyone in there.”
Kushner was once a tactical officer in the 6th Police District where Baker and Rivera worked. He said it appears they acted in accordance with CPD policy.
“I mean, if they saw the individual, they had a good description, they were in direct pursuit of the individual, then you don’t want to wait, because you don’t know who else you’re putting in jeopardy in that building,” Kushner told the I-Team.
The video was released four months after Krystal Rivera’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Baker and CPD, citing a volatile history between the two who had been romantically involved. Rivera had requested a new partner after they broke up.
Baker has been at the center of multiple investigations by the Chicago Police Department and has been relieved of police powers. The I-Team previously reported Baker also faced three suspensions and two reprimands in just four years with the department.
There were 11 seconds between Baker and Rivera entering the building before she was shot. Since June, police have said Officer Baker unintentionally shot Officer Rivera.
However, attorneys for Rivera’s family said in a statement, “this is NOT all of the body-worn video footage from the event. What has been released is a curated narrative meant to invent a false truth.” They said they will conduct a full forensic video audit and analysis to investigate.
COPA is not commenting on the allegations, but sources are telling the I-Team Officer Rivera’s body-worn camera was cut off to maintain dignity in her final moments.
An attorney for Officer Baker did not respond to the I-Team’s request for comment.
When announcing their lawsuit, the lawyer for the Rivera family claimed that Officer Baker didn’t do enough to help Officer Rivera after she was shot. On Friday, John Catanzara, the head of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police, defended Officer Baker’s actions. FOP President Catanzara also encouraged Officer Baker to consider filing a lawsuit against the law firm representing the Rivera family.
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