The family of a Chicago police officer who was tragically shot by her colleague during a pursuit earlier this year has initiated a wrongful death lawsuit, asserting that the department neglected evident warnings about the officer being a danger to her.

Officer Krystal Rivera’s mother has filed the lawsuit, accusing the Chicago Police Department of being aware of Officer Carlos Baker’s history of reckless actions and violent behavior, yet still assigning him to work with Rivera. Rivera, who was 36 years old, lost her life on June 5 while attempting to capture an armed suspect alongside Baker.

The lawsuit details that Rivera had frequently voiced her apprehensions to supervisors regarding Baker’s conduct and had recently ended a tumultuous two-year romantic relationship with him. The complaint highlights that the department was informed of several grievances against Baker, including an incident where a former girlfriend alleged he threatened her with a gun at a bar.

Yolanda Rivera, Krystal’s mother, expressed that her daughter should never have had to fear the very partner meant to protect her. “Krystal was aware of the job’s inherent dangers and embraced the risks that came with policing. However, fearing her own partner was never a risk she should have faced,” she remarked. “This betrayal ultimately cost Krystal her life.”

On June 5, during an attempt to apprehend an armed suspect, Officer Krystal Rivera was fatally shot by her fellow officer, Carlos Baker.

The legal action claims that Rivera and Baker stopped a driver suspected of carrying a weapon, leading to a foot pursuit that concluded near an apartment complex. Baker allegedly kicked in a door and discharged his firearm at the suspect, but tragically, his shot struck Rivera in the back instead.

Family attorney Antonio Romanucci said Baker then fled to another floor rather than call for help or provide any first aid. 

“He did not attempt even the most basic first aid step of applying pressure on her wound… Baker left Krystal there on the floor, literally gasping. Krystal radioed in her own shooting,” Romanucci said.

The lawsuit also accuses the department of filing misleading reports to state regulators that suggested the shots came from a barricaded suspect rather than from Baker.

Romanucci said Baker had 11 misconduct complaints in three years, placing him among the small percentage of officers with the worst disciplinary records. In one 2022 incident, Baker allegedly brandished a gun at an ex-girlfriend inside a tavern — a case reviewed by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which has not issued a formal determination.

Krystal Rivera had told supervisors she was concerned about her safety with Carlos Baker as her partner and had ended a two-year on-again, off-again romantic relationship with him shortly before the shooting. (Chicago Police Department)

Rivera joined CPD in 2021 and was paired with Baker in early 2023. The two began a romantic relationship that summer, but Rivera later asked for a new partner over what the lawsuit describes as Baker’s “prior reckless conduct.” Though the request was granted, the two were reassigned together last year after Rivera transferred into a tactical team.

According to the complaint, Rivera ended the relationship for good last winter after discovering Baker had a live-in girlfriend. She told colleagues she feared Baker’s “negative and hostile reaction” and said he continued showing up uninvited at her home as late as June 4 — one day before the shooting.

The lawsuit claims the police department knew that Carlos Baker was reckless and posed a threat. (Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Romanucci argued Baker should never have remained in uniform. “He never should have gotten past his probationary period. He was not fit to police our communities, let alone carry a gun under the color of law,” he said. “The decision CPD made to keep Carlos Baker on the force was not costly. It was fatal.”

The Cook County State’s Attorney previously declined to prosecute Baker, but Rivera’s family hopes new information uncovered during the lawsuit will lead prosecutors to reconsider.

Rivera, described by colleagues as a dedicated mentor and rising officer, was in her fourth year with the department.