Officer who shot, killed Ofc. Krystal Rivera relieved of police powers, CPD confirms

CHICAGO (WGN) – The Chicago police officer who accidentally shot and killed Officer Krystal Rivera while chasing a suspect earlier this summer has been relieved of his police powers, according to the Chicago Police Department.

CPD did not release any more information as to why the officer was relieved of his powers.

Officials have referred to Rivera’s shooting death as “accidental,” while Rivera’s family has asked for an outside investigation.

According to its last update, from June 9, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) said it will to continue to investigate the incident in which Rivera was shot and killed.

A statement from Rivera’s legal team and family reads:

“While the Rivera family and their legal team wholly believe removing Carlos Baker’s police powers is the appropriate decision, we called for this from the earliest days after he fatally shot his police partner, Krystal Rivera. However, as we stated clearly several weeks ago, the concerns about Carlos Baker go back further than the night he killed Krystal. The City hired this rogue police officer despite knowing he was a danger to the community while he was a probationary officer. They took affirmative action to hire Carlos Baker when the only action should have been to terminate his probation and ensure he never wore a CPD shield or carried a gun. Krystal Rivera would be alive today.”

The news comes after a female off-duty CPD officer was attacked outside a bar in Wicker Park on Sunday, Aug. 10, allegedly by a male off-duty CPD officer who sources tell WGN-TV was the same officer who shot and killed Rivera in June.

WGN-TV is not naming the male officer allegedly involved, since he has not been charged with a crime at this point.

According to sources, the off-duty female officer was outside DSTRKT Bar & Grill in Wicker Park, in the 1500 block of North Milwaukee Avenue on the city’s Northwest Side, waiting for an Uber. She alleges that she was approached by an off-duty male officer and an unknown woman, who demanded that she delete videos on her phone before a verbal argument turned physical.

The off-duty female officer accuses them of beating her in her “facial area” and was able to escape thanks to the help of others nearby, according to sources. She reported pain to her nose and required stitches on her lip.

It’s unclear what the videos on the female off-duty officer’s phone contained. WGN has reached out to the police union on the incident and has yet to hear back.

WGN also reached out to the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA), who confirmed they are in the early stages of investigating Sunday’s incident in Wicker Park.

The lawyer representing the officer relieved of his police powers said there is a lot of “hyperbole” and “misinformation” going around. He claims his client was not involved in a bar fight and looks forward to all the evidence to “prove the truth of what occurred.”