Romanucci & Blandin files Wrongful Death lawsuit against City of Chicago and Chicago Police partner who shot Officer Krystal Rivera

Complaint alleges Carlos Baker shot Krystal Rivera, then left her to die without rendering aid; CPD failed to properly investigate, discipline or remove Baker after multiple complaints

(CHICAGO, December 11, 2025) – Krystal Rivera knew. And the Chicago Police Department knew. Each had different but equally important knowledge that Chicago Police Officer Carlos Baker posed a threat to women, including Krystal, yet despite multiple citizen and peer complaints about Baker’s behavior and Krystal’s informing superiors that she thought he was reckless in the past, the two were paired together as partners on duty. Krystal’s knowledge of Baker’s personality and risk was beyond professional; it was personal, as the two had been in a romantic relationship, and she had tried to end it. She had learned Baker had been involved with another woman, and had repeatedly told Baker she intended to inform that other woman about their prior relationship.

On June 5, 2025, during the pursuit of a suspect, Baker fired his weapon and struck Krystal. He then abandoned her, failed to render medical aid or immediately call in her shooting to summon emergency aid or backup, and failed to provide accurate information to dispatch about what happened. She died of that gunshot wound, leaving behind a young daughter, a grieving family and an angry community that her death never should have happened – if only multiple warning signs had been heeded and action taken to remove him as her partner or remove him from the force altogether. Indeed, he never should have been a Chicago Police Officer from the beginning. 

This tragedy was absolutely foreseeable. It was not only the foreseeable result of Baker’s willful and wanton conduct, but also the foreseeable consequence of the City of Chicago’s own negligence with respect to the retention and supervision of Baker.

Romanucci & Blandin announces the filing of a civil lawsuit on behalf of Krystal’s family, naming Carlos Baker and the Chicago Police Department as defendants responsible for her death, including multiple counts against CPD for its failure to properly investigate and discipline Baker for numerous complaints, including a domestic violence complaint involving another woman with whom he was romantically involved before he became involved with Krystal. Further, the lawsuit notes that Krystal informed CPD higher-ups that she was concerned Baker was reckless and asked that they be reassigned so they were no longer partners.

Had CPD made appropriate decisions in numerous instances with Baker, he would either no longer have been an officer on June 5, 2025, or would not have been Krystal’s partner that day. Krystal would still be alive.

Case Background

On June 5, 2025, Krystal Rivera and Defendant Carlos Baker were on duty as members of CPD’s 6^th District TAC Team patrolling the streets in the East Chatham neighborhood. Around 9:50 p.m., the two attempted to stop a suspect believed to be armed. The suspect fled. They pursued the suspect on foot, chasing him into an apartment building located at 8200 S. Drexel Avenue. The officers entered the building and proceeded to a second-floor apartment with a closed door. Baker positioned himself directly in front of the door with his service weapon drawn and pointed at the door. Krystal positioned herself in a tactical stance behind him near the door. Baker kicked open the door to the apartment to find an unknown person pointing a weapon at him. Baker discharged his firearm, not hitting the suspect who was in front of him, but instead shooting Krystal, who was behind him, in the back.

As a result of being shot, she was immediately in severe medical distress and fell to the ground. She attempted to call in her own shooting, but it was difficult for dispatch to hear her.

Failure to render lifesaving aid or call for emergency medical help

Baker ignored CPD policy and training. He did not attempt to render any medical aid to Krystal. He did not attempt even the most basic first-aid step of applying pressure on her wound to mitigate blood loss or try any other life-saving measures. Baker left Rivera on the floor, gasping for air. She was forced to radio in her own shooting—but was too injured to repeat the message when dispatch couldn’t hear her.

Failure to immediately notify dispatch with accurate facts

Baker did not immediately inform or attempt to inform CPD dispatch that Krystal had been shot, as required under CPD policy and training. He did not request or attempt to request an ambulance for her. Nor did he ask for, or attempt to request, backup to assist her. His failure to promptly notify dispatch delayed the arrival of emergency medical services to Krystal.

It was not until after CPD dispatch sent that additional patrol car to the area that Baker radioed to dispatch, “Shots fired at the police.” Baker never admitted or clarified that he was the only one who discharged a weapon and that the “shot fired” came from his own service weapon. There was no other gunfire that occurred during the encounter other than the single gunshot from his service weapon that struck Krystal.

Krystal Rivera’s death was entirely preventable. Her death was not instantaneous. His actions and omissions assured she would perish that night. He made intentional decisions not to come to her aid. His actions show that he consciously disregarded, or was utterly indifferent to, the plain and obvious risk that she would die without his help. Were it not for his actions and failures, Krystal’s life likely could have been saved. The lawsuit details how the personal relationship, recent breakup, and his knowledge that Krystal planned to confront his live-in girlfriend about his relationship with Krystal contributed to his decision to refrain from attempting to save her life that night.

The personal relationship between Krystal Rivera and Carlos Baker

Baker’s actions towards women were well known. In particular, CPD also knew or should have known—based on a prior complaint against him from a woman who he was dating before Krystal—that he posed a particular risk of harm to women with whom he has, or has had, a dating relationship. At the time of her death, Krystal, who had recently ended a romantic relationship with him, was included. At least two of his CPD supervisors were aware of their romantic relationship and the risk to Krystal’s safety. One or more members of CPD knew that this relationship had ended, that Krystal believed he was a threat to her personal safety, and that Krystal was eager to be transferred to a different CPD district away from him or reassigned to a different partner. Despite this knowledge, CPD chose to retain Baker as a CPD officer and maintain his assignment as Krystal’s partner.

Krystal and Baker began a romantic relationship in 2023 while working together as CPD partners. They continued an on-and-off romantic relationship for approximately two years until she ended the relationship just before her death. During his romantic relationship with Krystal, he denied being romantically involved with anyone else. However, upon information and belief, and at all times relevant herein, he maintained a long-term relationship with a second woman with whom he lived. We believe that the woman was unaware of his relationship with Krystal.

By September 2023, Krystal and Baker’s romantic relationship was known to other members of CPD, including their superiors in the chain of command. In or around February 2025, Krystal learned that he was involved in a long-term romantic relationship with another woman. In late May 2025, Krystal ended her romantic relationship with Baker, but the two remained partners on the 6^th District TAC Team.

After Krystal ended her romantic relationship with him, she expressed concerns to CPD colleagues about his adverse and hostile reaction to the breakup and his continued attempts to contact her outside of work about personal matters. She repeatedly told Baker that she intended to disclose their prior romantic relationship to his long-term girlfriend.

In the early morning hours of June 4, 2025, less than 48 hours before Krystal’s death, Baker showed up at Krystal’s home uninvited, after she told him not to come to her home, and this was not the first time he had done so. Just hours later, she would die from a gunshot by him while he stood by and did nothing to save her life.

Carlos Baker’s history of aggression against women and complaints about him to the CPD

At the time of Krystal’s death, Baker had accumulated at least 11 misconduct complaints in less than three years on the force—a record worse than 95% of CPD officers. His very first day as a probationary officer resulted in a sustained allegation of disobedience. Four months later, a woman he had been dating filed a complaint alleging Baker brandished his firearm at her during a domestic dispute—conduct that constitutes domestic violence under Illinois law.

Despite these serious allegations, the City’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) closed the domestic violence investigation after just three and a half months without any determination, well below COPA’s average investigation length of 20 months. Baker faced no discipline and remained on the force.

These complaints and three others all occurred while Baker was still a probationary officer, and during which CPD may summarily terminate an officer.

Despite the numerous complaints of misconduct against Defendant Baker on or around March 2025, CPD assigned Defendant Baker to the 6^th District TAC Team for the second time—a specialized and sought-after unit within the Department, despite his evident unfitness for duty as a CPD officer, let alone serving on a specialized unit.

The City Knew of the Danger to Rivera

The complaint further alleges that CPD supervisors knew Baker and Rivera had been in a romantic relationship, knew that Rivera had previously requested a different partner due to safety concerns about Baker’s reckless conduct. Other members of CPD knew that Rivera had recently ended her relationship with Baker after discovering that Baker had been living with another woman throughout their relationship.

The warning signs were there, particularly with the domestic violence allegations of Baker flashing a gun at a woman he had dated. CPD chose to ignore these warning signs and assigned Baker to be Krystal’s partner just months before her death. Baker should never have been permitted to remain a CPD officer, and this tragedy and the death of Krystal Rivera never should have happened. 

Civil Lawsuit Details

The nine-count complaint, filed December 11, 2025 in the Circuit Court of Cook County by Romanucci & Blandin, LLC, on behalf of Yolanda Rivera, Krystal’s mother and Administrator of her estate, alleges that the 36-year-old officer’s death was not only caused by Baker’s willful and wanton conduct, but was also the foreseeable consequence of the City’s negligence in retaining Baker and assigning him as Rivera’s partner despite knowledge that he posed a danger to her.

“Any police officer shot in the line of duty has one expectation: that they can immediately count on their fellow officer to come to their aid,” the complaint states. “Officer Krystal Rivera should have been able to rely on her partner to do just that—but against all decency, her partner not only shot her but then ran in the opposite direction and left her to die.”

The Plaintiffs are represented by Founding Partner Antonio M. Romanucci, Senior Attorneys Maura D. White and Joshua M. Levin from Romanucci & Blandin, LLC.

The lawsuit seeks a trial by jury.

Counts in the lawsuit include:

• COUNT I – Willful and Wanton Conduct – Wrongful Death
• COUNT II – Willful and Wanton Conduct – Survival Action
• COUNT III – Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress – Survival Action
• COUNT IV – Respondeat Superior against City of Chicago
• COUNT V – Indemnification Claim, 745 ILCS 10/9-102 against City of Chicago
• COUNT VI – Negligent Retention – Wrongful Death against City of Chicago
• COUNT VII – Negligent Supervision – Wrongful Death against City of Chicago
• COUNT VIIII – Negligent Supervision – Survival Action against City of Chicago
• COUNT IX – Negligent Supervision – Survival Action against City of Chicago

“Carlos Baker was a danger to women, and CPD was on notice of it as early as 2022. Before, during, and after his personal relationship with Krystal, he was hostile and threatening to women outside of his professional capacity. Baker’s consistency is certainly chilling, but it also provided valuable notice through a 2022 domestic violence complaint by a former love interest of his. But CPD tragically dropped the ball, failing in its duty to thoroughly investigate and discipline Baker for that behavior. Had they done so, he likely would have lost his badge, and Krystal would be alive today,” said Antonio M. Romanucci, Founding Partner of Romanucci & Blandin. “Further, Carlos Baker’s conscious decisions in critical moments after he shot Krystal showed his utter personal disdain for her and the dereliction of his duties as an officer and as her partner. He was the only person in that moment who could call for emergency help or render aid, and he chose to do neither. Those willful and wanton choices clearly contributed to her death.”

“It is a fact of life that police officers face danger on the streets. They deserve respect for trying to protect our communities. Krystal Rivera deserved a partner who would protect her in dangerous situations. Instead, she got someone who the City knew was dangerous—and when the worst happened, he abandoned her,” said Senior Attorney Maura D. White, Romanucci & Blandin.

“Every day is painful as we continue to grieve the loss of my daughter, Krystal. Her child, her sisters, our family, and an entire community miss her deeply. We miss her laughter, her bold spirit, and her light. That grief does not ease with time. Krystal was a proud Chicago Police Officer. Our family has a long history of service in this department. She became our family’s first female police officer, and we were incredibly proud. Krystal understood the dangers of her job. She accepted the risks that come with policing. What she never should have had to fear was her own partner. That betrayal cost her life. Krystal believed in justice. That belief is what led her to wear the badge. And now I ask this city directly, where is the justice for Krystal? We hope this legal action brings real answers, real accountability, and real change so that no other family has to stand where we are standing today,” said Plaintiff Yolanda Rivera, Krystal’s mother.

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ABOUT ROMANUCCI & BLANDIN, LLC

Romanucci & Blandin is a Chicago-based national trial practice committed to fighting for victims of negligence, abuse and wrongful death through impact litigation. For more than 25 years, we have secured more than $1 billion in verdicts and settlements for our clients - many for millions of dollars or record-setting awards. Our experience ranges from mass shootings, civil rights and police misconduct to medical malpractice, sexual abuse, motor vehicle accidents or workplace injury cases involving individual or institutional negligence. Romanucci & Blandin is a valuable legal resource to individuals and groups of people who have been injured by others’ wrongdoing. Referring attorneys and clients say several factors distinguish our firm: Our record of success, depth of experience, talented and dedicated legal team, tireless preparation, and strategic use of communications to fight for the rights of those whose lives have been changed forever. We differ from other personal injury firms in that our work does not stop when a verdict or settlement is secured. Our clients’ experiences often inspire us to commit resources to transforming lives and communities. For more information about Romanucci & Blandin, please visit: www.rblaw.net.