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Hell and Gone Murder Line: Krystal Rivera · Hell and Gone: Murder Line

0:46
Speaker 1: School of Humans. Helen Got Murder Line actively investigates cold
0:52
Speaker 1: case murders in an effort to raise public awareness invite
0:55
Speaker 1: witnesses to come forward and present evidence that could potentially
0:58
Speaker 1: be further investigated by law enforcement. While we value insights
1:03
Speaker 1: from family and community members, their statements should not be
1:06
Speaker 1: considered evidence and point to the challenges of verifying facts
1:10
Speaker 1: inherent in cold cases. We remind listeners that everyone has
1:14
Speaker 1: presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
1:17
Speaker 1: Nothing in the podcast is intended to state or imply
1:21
Speaker 1: that anyone who has not been convicted of a crime
1:24
Speaker 1: is guilty of any wrongdoing. Thanks for listening.
1:29
Speaker 2: On June fifth, twenty twenty five, thirty six year old
1:32
Speaker 2: Chicago Police officer Crystal Rivera was working patrol in the
1:37
Speaker 2: East Chatham neighborhood on Chicago's South Side. She was with
1:40
Speaker 2: her partner, officer Carlos Baker. Crystal had recently passed her
1:45
Speaker 2: four year anniversary with the Chicago Police Department.
1:49
Speaker 3: She loved her job.
1:51
Speaker 2: Kristel was a single mother to young daughter Isabella, and
1:54
Speaker 2: she had been working with Carlos for several years. They
1:58
Speaker 2: were both members of CPD's sixth District Tactical Team. That night,
2:03
Speaker 2: they were patrolling near the eighty two hundred block of
2:06
Speaker 2: South Drex Avenue. It was an ordinary night until about
2:10
Speaker 2: nine to fifty pm. That's when Carlos Baker and Crystal
2:14
Speaker 2: Rivera saw a man outside an apartment building on South
2:18
Speaker 2: Drex Avenue.
2:19
Speaker 3: The man would later.
2:20
Speaker 2: Be identified by police as Jalen Arnold. According to prosecutors,
2:25
Speaker 2: the officers believed that Jalen might be armed. They said
2:29
Speaker 2: he had an unusually large bulge under his jacket, something
2:33
Speaker 2: that appeared consistent with a firearm or a drum magazine.
2:37
Speaker 2: Carlos and Crystal approached Jalen, and Jalen ran, so they
2:41
Speaker 2: ran after him. These moments would later be captured on
2:45
Speaker 2: both Carlos and Crystal's body cameras.
2:48
Speaker 3: Yes, what is that?
2:56
Speaker 2: On the footage, the officers can be seen running up
2:59
Speaker 2: to the apartment door and yelling for Jalen to show
3:02
Speaker 2: them his hands. They appear to be buzzing different doors.
3:06
Speaker 2: You can hear someone yelling police in the background, and
3:10
Speaker 2: eventually it appears as though someone lets the officers in.
3:22
Speaker 2: Once the chase went into the apartment building, they ran
3:25
Speaker 2: up a flight of stairs toward a second four apartment.
3:29
Speaker 2: On the video, you can see Jalen in front of them,
3:33
Speaker 2: Carlos was behind him, and Crystal was behind Carlos. Both
3:37
Speaker 2: Carlos and Crystal had their guns drawn. This hallway was narrow,
3:41
Speaker 2: They were breathing hard, and then Carlos kicked in the door.
3:54
Speaker 2: After he kicked in the door, Carlos saw something behind
3:57
Speaker 2: that door. He fired a shot from his weapon, but
4:01
Speaker 2: it didn't hit the suspect.
4:03
Speaker 3: It hit Crystal.
4:06
Speaker 2: And what happened after that splits this case into two
4:09
Speaker 2: different timelines. The first one is Carlos Baker's timeline, because
4:14
Speaker 2: both he and his defenders say that everything relevant to
4:17
Speaker 2: this case happened in a matter of seconds in a
4:20
Speaker 2: narrow hallway during a dangerous pursuit with two armed men
4:24
Speaker 2: inside an apartment. But Crystal Rivera's family claims in a
4:28
Speaker 2: lawsuit that that timeline is too short. They say there's
4:32
Speaker 2: another timeline, one that is much longer, and one that
4:35
Speaker 2: started long before that fateful chase into the apartment building.
4:39
Speaker 2: Crystal's family claims that this timeline started years or with
4:44
Speaker 2: Carlos and Crystal. They say the two weren't just partners
4:48
Speaker 2: on the job, they were romantically involved, and they had
4:51
Speaker 2: recently gone through a painful breakup. Then not long after that,
4:57
Speaker 2: one of them ended up dead. I'm Catherine Townsend. Over
5:02
Speaker 2: the past eight years of making my true crime podcast,
5:04
Speaker 2: Helen Gone, I've learned that there is no such thing
5:07
Speaker 2: as a small town where murder never happens. I have
5:11
Speaker 2: received hundreds of messages from people all around the country
5:14
Speaker 2: asking for help with an unsolved murder that's affected them,
5:17
Speaker 2: their families, and their communities. If you have a case
5:21
Speaker 2: you'd like me and my team to look into, you
5:24
Speaker 2: can reach out to us at our Helen Gone Murder
5:26
Speaker 2: Line at six seven eight seven four four six one
5:29
Speaker 2: four five. That's six seven eight seven four four six
5:33
Speaker 2: one four five, or you can send us a message
5:36
Speaker 2: on Instagram at Helen Gonepod. This is Helen Gone Murder Line.
6:27
Speaker 2: According to Crystal's obituary, she began her training to join
6:31
Speaker 2: the police department when she was just eighteen years old.
6:34
Speaker 2: She considered going to join the army, but wanted to
6:37
Speaker 2: serve her community locally. After she joined the Chicago Police Department,
6:43
Speaker 2: she had dreams of becoming a forensic investigator, but Cristel
6:47
Speaker 2: was juggling a lot. She had a full time job,
6:50
Speaker 2: and she was taking care of her young daughter, Isabella, who,
6:53
Speaker 2: according to her family, was Cristel's whole world. Cristel was
6:57
Speaker 2: researching online classes to see if part time studying for
7:01
Speaker 2: forensics would be an option. Her family wrote in her
7:04
Speaker 2: obituary that she was known for her sense of humor
7:07
Speaker 2: and her passions, which included fashion and horses, and also
7:11
Speaker 2: staying physically fit. She always made time to go to
7:15
Speaker 2: the gym. The obituary read quote, Though she gave much
7:19
Speaker 2: to her work and goals, Cristel's number one priority was
7:23
Speaker 2: always her daughter, Isabella. Her daughter was the center of
7:26
Speaker 2: her world, and everything she did was with Isabella in mind.
7:30
Speaker 3: End quote.
7:32
Speaker 2: Christel loved her job, and her mom said though members
7:35
Speaker 2: of the family had worked in law enforcement, Cristel was
7:39
Speaker 2: the family's first female police officer, and on June second,
7:43
Speaker 2: twenty five, Crystal was working with Carlos Baker. Carlos was
7:48
Speaker 2: her partner, which in police work is more than just
7:51
Speaker 2: a work partner. This is someone you regularly have to
7:54
Speaker 2: trust with your life, and in Crystal and Carlos's case,
7:58
Speaker 2: this was an even more complicated dynamic because, according to
8:02
Speaker 2: Krystal's family. Carlos and Crystal had been in a long
8:06
Speaker 2: term relationship and had recently split. Crystal and Carlos were
8:12
Speaker 2: on the CPD's sixth District Tactical Team. The police Department
8:17
Speaker 2: in Chicago has twenty two of these Tactical Unit teams
8:19
Speaker 2: and they're charged with proactively dealing with crime. They often
8:23
Speaker 2: deploy in undercover vehicles or while wearing street clothes, and
8:28
Speaker 2: this is in an area that has quite a bit
8:30
Speaker 2: of violence and property crime. So, as we said before,
8:34
Speaker 2: Carlos and Crystal were pursuing Jalen. Bodycam footage has been
8:38
Speaker 2: released by Chicago's civilian Office of Police Accountability. This footage
8:43
Speaker 2: shows the chase from both Crystal and Carlos's perspectives. So
8:48
Speaker 2: let's start with timeline one, the short timeline, the one
8:52
Speaker 2: that Carlos Baker's attorney has focused on. This timeline starts
8:56
Speaker 2: with the chase, the apartment, the shot, and the two
8:59
Speaker 2: minutes that followed. This footage is chaotic, but in that
9:03
Speaker 2: body cam footage, Carlos is in the front and Crystal
9:06
Speaker 2: is behind him. You can see them moving through the
9:08
Speaker 2: stairwell toward the second four apartment. Both of them have
9:12
Speaker 2: their guns out. Carlos runs into an apartment at the
9:15
Speaker 2: end of the hallway. Then Crystal reaches the doorway. Carlos's
9:20
Speaker 2: footage shows him crouching and kicking in the door. If
9:23
Speaker 2: you freeze frame, Jalen is visible, you can see him
9:28
Speaker 2: jumping over a couch to hide. There was another man
9:31
Speaker 2: inside as well. This man was later identified as Adrian Rucker.
9:36
Speaker 2: According to the CPD, Adrian Rucker had an ar style
9:40
Speaker 2: long rifle which he allegedly pointed at Carlos, and then
9:44
Speaker 2: Carlos appears to spin around and you can hear one gunshot.
9:49
Speaker 3: Carlos fires.
9:51
Speaker 2: At the same time, Crystal's body camera captures the sound
9:54
Speaker 2: of the gunshot and a woman screaming. That woman was Crystal.
10:00
Speaker 2: Carlos's shot had not hit Jalen or Adrian. It hit
10:04
Speaker 2: his partner, Crystal Rivera. Crystal was lying in a pool
10:08
Speaker 2: of blood. She radioed in for assistance, but the dispatcher
10:12
Speaker 2: couldn't hear her, and because she was so badly hurt,
10:15
Speaker 2: she was unable to repeat that she needed help. Carlos
10:19
Speaker 2: Baker's firearm fired that single shot that killed Crystal Rivera.
10:24
Speaker 2: That part is not in dispute. What is disputed is
10:27
Speaker 2: how and why that shot was fired. Carlos Baker, through
10:33
Speaker 2: his attorney, has said this was an unintentional discharge of
10:36
Speaker 2: his firearm. His attorney has described it as a split
10:40
Speaker 2: second judgment call in a life or death situation. Prosecute
10:44
Speaker 2: have also described the shooting as accidental, and Carlos has
10:47
Speaker 2: not been charged with any crime in connection with this incident.
10:51
Speaker 2: But Crystal Rivera's family does not accept the idea that
10:54
Speaker 2: the word accident explains what happened, because they claim this
10:59
Speaker 2: shooting has to be understood in a larger context.
11:03
Speaker 3: But before we get to that.
11:04
Speaker 2: Second timeline, we have to stay inside the first one,
11:07
Speaker 2: because the first timeline does not end with a gunshot.
11:10
Speaker 2: It continues with what Carlos Baker did next. After firing
11:14
Speaker 2: that shot, Carlos ran up another flight of stairs. He
11:18
Speaker 2: radioed the police that shots were fired at police, and
11:22
Speaker 2: then he made a call for a ten.
11:23
Speaker 3: To one, an emergency call for assistance. Shot fire, tadline,
11:31
Speaker 3: shot police turn what you can hear him breathing heavily.
11:39
Speaker 2: Then about thirty seconds later, Carlos calls out to Crystal,
11:42
Speaker 2: asking Crystal you good.
11:44
Speaker 3: Crystal, We have an ambulance. Ambulance, No, I can't get
11:55
Speaker 3: my corner.
11:57
Speaker 2: After that, it's silence. Crystal does not answer. Then Carlos
12:03
Speaker 2: requests an ambulance. He says he can't get down to Crystal.
12:07
Speaker 2: According to the footage summary, Carlos starts back down the
12:10
Speaker 2: stairs again. Then he appears to hesitate and go back
12:13
Speaker 2: up the stairs. Then he asks for a swat team.
12:17
Speaker 2: Around two minutes after the shooting, Carlos goes back down
12:21
Speaker 2: the stairs. He reaches Crystal, who is lying motionless in
12:24
Speaker 2: a pool of blood.
12:26
Speaker 3: Second floor. Hurry on, Christal, hear me, hear me?
12:33
Speaker 2: All right, I heard the second floor.
12:36
Speaker 1: What's the second poor?
12:38
Speaker 2: The video shows Carlos pulling Crystal towards the stairs. He says,
12:43
Speaker 2: come on and stay with me, Chris, and then the
12:46
Speaker 2: other officers arrive on the scene. When they do, Carlos
12:50
Speaker 2: tells the other officers to get Crystal in the car
12:53
Speaker 2: and take her to the hospital. Crystal was taken to
12:56
Speaker 2: the hospital where she later died. So in timeline won
13:01
Speaker 2: there are really two key moments, the three seconds before
13:05
Speaker 2: the shot and the two minutes after it. Carlos, Baker's
13:08
Speaker 2: attorney says those first seconds are what matter most. He
13:12
Speaker 2: claims that Carlos was confronting a dangerous situation with two
13:17
Speaker 2: armed men inside the apartment. According to police, Jalen Arnold
13:22
Speaker 2: had a loaded handgun on him and Adrian Rucker was
13:25
Speaker 2: pointing an ar style long rifle at Carlos Baker when
13:29
Speaker 2: Carlos fired his weapon. According to police, Carlos's attorney has
13:33
Speaker 2: said when Adrian pointed that rifle at Carlos, Carlos stumbled.
13:38
Speaker 2: That's when he stepped back, and that is when this
13:40
Speaker 2: alleged accidental discharge happened. Carlos's attorney said Carlos was afraid
13:45
Speaker 2: for his life and that his actions on the video
13:47
Speaker 2: show that Carlos was acting within CPD policy. That the
13:51
Speaker 2: video proved Carlos did everything in his power and used
13:54
Speaker 2: his training to give aid to Crystal. The attorneys said
13:59
Speaker 2: people should not blame Carlos Baker, they should blame the
14:02
Speaker 2: two armed felons. The attorney says the reason Crystal died
14:07
Speaker 2: is because a person decided to run from the police
14:10
Speaker 2: with a loaded handgun and because another person allegedly pointed
14:14
Speaker 2: a rifle at officers. Jalen Arnold was later charged with
14:18
Speaker 2: armed violence, possession of a firearm by a repeat felon,
14:21
Speaker 2: and possession of cocaine. After pleading guilty to unlawful possession
14:26
Speaker 2: of a weapon, Jalen was sentenced to eight years in prison.
14:30
Speaker 2: Police later said that at the time of his arrest,
14:33
Speaker 2: Adrian Rutger had six outstanding warrants on him. On July seventh,
14:37
Speaker 2: twenty twenty five, Adrian Rutger was charged with several counts,
14:41
Speaker 2: including possession of a controlled substance within ten to deliver,
14:44
Speaker 2: possession of fraudulent identification cards, and unlawful possession of a firearm.
14:52
Speaker 2: But Cristel Rivera's family looks at that same timeline and
14:56
Speaker 2: sees something entirely different. It's the same footage, but they
15:01
Speaker 2: have a version of events that they say raises a
15:03
Speaker 2: whole new set of questions. In a lawsuit filed by
15:18
Speaker 2: Crystal's family, they claim that the two minute time frame
15:22
Speaker 2: when Carlos went up the stairs and left Crystal there
15:25
Speaker 2: was critical. They alleged that he failed to immediately give
15:29
Speaker 2: her medical aid that meant she was lying there dying,
15:33
Speaker 2: when the lawsuit says her partner should have been trying
15:36
Speaker 2: to save her life. The family's lawsuit also questions why
15:40
Speaker 2: Carlos said shots fired at police if Carlo was allegedly
15:45
Speaker 2: the only person who fired a weapon. This seems to
15:48
Speaker 2: be a legally important point because if Carlos believed there
15:52
Speaker 2: was still an active threat, that could affect how his
15:55
Speaker 2: actions were judged.
15:57
Speaker 3: But the lawsuit.
15:57
Speaker 2: Claims Carlos never admitted or clarified that the shot at
16:01
Speaker 2: police came from his own gun. According to the lawsuit,
16:06
Speaker 2: there was no other gun fired during the encounter, just
16:09
Speaker 2: the single shot from Carlos Baker's weapon, the shot that
16:12
Speaker 2: struck and ultimately killed Crystal. Carlos Baker's attorney disputes the
16:18
Speaker 2: family's characterization. He says Carlos did call for an ambulance
16:23
Speaker 2: and that he went back down the stairs to try
16:25
Speaker 2: to reach Crystal. Crystal's family said that was too little,
16:28
Speaker 2: too late. That's why the two minutes after the shot
16:31
Speaker 2: had become one of the most important parts of this case.
16:35
Speaker 2: But Crystal's family said, really, the most important timeline started
16:40
Speaker 2: way before the night Crystal was shot. The family has
16:43
Speaker 2: said they believe you can't understand what happened on that
16:46
Speaker 2: fateful night without understanding the history between Carlos and Crystal.
16:52
Speaker 2: Because Carlos wasn't just Cristel's partner, he was her ex boyfriend.
16:57
Speaker 2: Crystal's family lays a lot of these claims out in
16:59
Speaker 2: their civil lawsuit. They have filed it in Cook County
17:03
Speaker 2: on behalf of Yolanda Rivera, Cristel's mother, and the administrator
17:06
Speaker 2: of her estate. The defendants include Carlos Baker, but also
17:11
Speaker 2: the City of Chicago. Because the lawsuit alleges Crystal Rivera's
17:15
Speaker 2: death was not only caused by Carlos's conduct on the
17:19
Speaker 2: night of the shooting, It alleges that her death was
17:21
Speaker 2: also the foreseeable result of the City of Chicago's negligence
17:25
Speaker 2: in hiring Carlos, in supervising him, and in assigning him.
17:29
Speaker 3: As Crystal's partner.
17:31
Speaker 2: It's important to state these argist allegations. They are only
17:35
Speaker 2: one side of the story and they have not been
17:37
Speaker 2: proven in a court of law. The family lawsuit alleges
17:40
Speaker 2: that Cristel Rivera and Carlos Baker had been an on
17:43
Speaker 2: and off romantic relationship for a long time. It alleges
17:48
Speaker 2: the relationship began in twenty twenty three while they were
17:51
Speaker 2: working together as CPD partners, and that they dated for
17:54
Speaker 2: about two years, and that officers on the police force
17:58
Speaker 2: were aware of Carlos and Crystal's relationship and that they
18:01
Speaker 2: had been aware of it since around September of twenty
18:04
Speaker 2: twenty three. But there's more because, according to the lawsuit,
18:08
Speaker 2: Crystal ended the relationship with Carlos shortly before her.
18:11
Speaker 3: Death, and the reason for her ending it.
18:15
Speaker 2: According to court documents, was because Carlos was quote involved
18:20
Speaker 2: with another woman that Crystal learned about it, and that
18:22
Speaker 2: Cristel said she intended to tell that woman about her
18:25
Speaker 2: relationship with Carlos end quote. So, the lawsuit states that
18:29
Speaker 2: Cristal learned about Carlos's other long term relationship with another
18:34
Speaker 2: woman in February of twenty twenty five, and that in
18:37
Speaker 2: May of twenty twenty five, Crystal broke.
18:39
Speaker 3: Up with him.
18:40
Speaker 2: But Crystal's family said they believed the timeline starts even
18:45
Speaker 2: earlier than that because Kristal's family attorney says the Chicago
18:49
Speaker 2: Police Department had quote important knowledge that Chicago police officer
18:54
Speaker 2: Carlos Baker posed a threat to women, including Crystal. Yet
18:58
Speaker 2: despite multiple citizen and pure complaints about Baker's behavior and
19:03
Speaker 2: Crystal's informing superiors that she thought he was reckless in
19:05
Speaker 2: the past. The two were paired together as partners on
19:09
Speaker 2: duty end quote. So the lawsuit claims Carlos and Crystal
19:14
Speaker 2: had been arguing because Cristel was about to confess to
19:16
Speaker 2: Carlos's live in girlfriend that they had been in a
19:20
Speaker 2: romantic relationship. The lawsuit states that they believed that Carlos's
19:24
Speaker 2: girlfriend was unaware of his relationship with Crystal, So if
19:29
Speaker 2: these claims are true, this could potentially have been a
19:32
Speaker 2: situation with a lot of potential for conflict. After Crystal
19:37
Speaker 2: ended her romantic relationship with Carlos in May of twenty
19:40
Speaker 2: twenty five, she expressed concerns to her CPD colleagues about
19:45
Speaker 2: what court documents claim were his adverse and hostile reaction
19:49
Speaker 2: to the breakup and his continued attempts to contact Crystal
19:53
Speaker 2: outside of work about personal matters. During this time, Crystal
19:57
Speaker 2: was allegedly telling Carlos she was going to tell his
20:00
Speaker 2: girlfriend about their relationship, and then in the early morning
20:03
Speaker 2: hours of June fourth, twenty twenty five, which would have
20:07
Speaker 2: been less than forty eight hours before Crystal's death, Carlos
20:11
Speaker 2: showed up at Crystal's home uninvited after she told him
20:15
Speaker 2: specifically not to come there. Just hours later, she would
20:19
Speaker 2: die from a gunshot wound, while the lawsuit claims Carlos
20:23
Speaker 2: quote stood by and did nothing to save her.
20:26
Speaker 3: Life end quote.
20:29
Speaker 2: The lawsuit calls Carlos a danger to women and claimed
20:32
Speaker 2: that as early as twenty twenty two that Carlos was
20:35
Speaker 2: quote hostile and threatening to women outside of his professional
20:39
Speaker 2: capacity end quote. Carlos's attorney, Tim Gray said in a
20:44
Speaker 2: statement which was reported by the Illinois Answers Project in
20:48
Speaker 2: conjunction with the Chicago Sun Times that quote Officer Baker
20:53
Speaker 2: is heartbroken over what happened on that night and will
20:55
Speaker 2: privately process his grief. The focus should not be on
20:59
Speaker 2: second guessing each tactical decision made, but rather on the
21:02
Speaker 2: profound loss of a great police officer an equally great person.
21:06
Speaker 2: Policing is a dangerous profession, and it is no easy
21:10
Speaker 2: task to keep the people of the city safe.
21:12
Speaker 3: End quote.
21:15
Speaker 2: In twenty twenty two, the lawsuit claims that a former
21:19
Speaker 2: love interest of Carlos filed a restraining order against him. Again,
21:23
Speaker 2: none of these claims have been tested in court, but
21:26
Speaker 2: it does bring up an interesting question about what happens
21:29
Speaker 2: when there's a personal relationship between two partners and things
21:33
Speaker 2: go south, and whether warning signs could have been ignored.
21:38
Speaker 2: The word partner in police work is interesting because it
21:42
Speaker 2: means a lot more than just work colleagues. A partner
21:45
Speaker 2: in police work is someone you literally have to trust
21:48
Speaker 2: with your life every day. But a natural question that
21:52
Speaker 2: comes to mind for me is when something like this happens,
21:55
Speaker 2: when partners in life and partners in police work go
21:58
Speaker 2: through a breakup, what's the protocol? Can they ask to
22:02
Speaker 2: be reassigned? So I took a look at the CPD's
22:05
Speaker 2: official policy since I haven't seen any reports on this,
22:09
Speaker 2: and it turns out that the answer is it's complicated
22:13
Speaker 2: because there are very specific rules in play. If they're
22:16
Speaker 2: dealing with someone who's a supervisor of someone else, officers
22:20
Speaker 2: are banned from having relationships with people who are below
22:23
Speaker 2: them on the food chain. For example, officers can't start
22:27
Speaker 2: relationships with recruits. There are also rules banning sex while
22:32
Speaker 2: on duty, but peer to peer relationships relationships between professional
22:37
Speaker 2: equals are more complicated. The Police State quote. While peer
22:42
Speaker 2: level officers are really allowed to date, they face heavy restrictions,
22:46
Speaker 2: including shift assignments. Partner pairings and training environments. There are
22:52
Speaker 2: also rules involving chain of command in general, so if
22:56
Speaker 2: one person in a romantic relationship is promoted, for example,
22:59
Speaker 2: they are supposed to formally disclose the relationship to internal
23:03
Speaker 2: affairs or human resources. CBS News reported these rules exist
23:07
Speaker 2: because of a few reasons. First, of all, police forces
23:10
Speaker 2: want to dissuade people from filing hostile work environment lawsuits.
23:14
Speaker 2: But also if a bad breakup between officers happen, like
23:18
Speaker 2: the one Crystal's family allege happened between her and Carlos,
23:22
Speaker 2: this can become a major safety issue, both for the
23:26
Speaker 2: officers involved and also for their colleagues and the general public.
23:41
Speaker 2: Crystal's family lawsuit claims that after her relationship with Carlos ended,
23:44
Speaker 2: that Crystal did express an interest to be reassigned or
23:48
Speaker 2: given a different partner. It's not yet clear what those
23:52
Speaker 2: communications were with the CPD supervisors, but on June fifth,
23:57
Speaker 2: twenty twenty five, Carlos and Crystal were still working together.
24:01
Speaker 2: But it's interesting because the lawsuit goes even further back
24:04
Speaker 2: and says not only should Cristal and Carlos have not
24:07
Speaker 2: been working together that night, it alleges that by the
24:11
Speaker 2: Police Department allowing her to be partnered with Carlos, that
24:14
Speaker 2: the department put Crystal in a dangerous position before that
24:18
Speaker 2: pursuit ever began. The lawsuit also focuses on Carlos's history
24:23
Speaker 2: inside the Chicago Police Department. Carlos, according to the complaint,
24:28
Speaker 2: had accumulated at least eleven misconduct complaints in less than
24:32
Speaker 2: three years on the force, which was a complaint history
24:36
Speaker 2: worse than ninety five percent of CPD officers. The Chicago
24:41
Speaker 2: Sun Times also reported that why all Carlos was a
24:44
Speaker 2: probationary officer, a woman he had dated filed a complaint
24:48
Speaker 2: alleging that he flashed a gun at her in December
24:51
Speaker 2: of twenty twenty two. The reporting by the Sun Times
24:55
Speaker 2: and the Illinois Answers Project gave more details about that incident,
24:59
Speaker 2: stating that the woman whom Carlos was dating showed up
25:02
Speaker 2: at a bar called Blue Light while she was on
25:04
Speaker 2: a date with another man, and that Carlos showed up
25:06
Speaker 2: and allegedly said who the fuck is that guy, before
25:10
Speaker 2: lifting his shirt to show a gun in his waistband.
25:13
Speaker 2: So Crystal's family says these types of incidents should have
25:18
Speaker 2: been a warning sign about what they describe as the
25:21
Speaker 2: specific risk Carlos could pose to women with whom he
25:24
Speaker 2: had been romantically involved. According to the lawsuit, the domestic
25:28
Speaker 2: violence investigation related to the woman at the bar was
25:32
Speaker 2: closed after a few months, and Carlos was not disciplined.
25:36
Speaker 2: These complaints and others all happened when Carlos was still
25:40
Speaker 2: a probationary officer, which meant, the lawsuit argus is that
25:44
Speaker 2: this would have been a period when the CPD could
25:47
Speaker 2: have more easily terminated Carlos's employment, but that didn't happen.
25:52
Speaker 2: Carlos stayed on the force and he was later promoted.
25:56
Speaker 2: In March of twenty twenty five, Carlos was a signed
25:59
Speaker 2: to the sixth District Tactical Team. This was a specialized
26:03
Speaker 2: unit and it's a highly sought after placement in that department.
26:07
Speaker 2: The family lawsuits claimed negligent retention and negligent supervision because
26:12
Speaker 2: they claimed these incidents meant the police department had chances
26:15
Speaker 2: to intervene here and didn't. In August of twenty twenty five,
26:20
Speaker 2: CBS News reported Carlos was quote stripped of his police
26:24
Speaker 2: powers after allegations he had attacked a female police officer
26:28
Speaker 2: who was off duty at a restaurant in wicker Park.
26:32
Speaker 2: The news channel also reported that following that incident, which
26:35
Speaker 2: by the way, was unrelated to Crystal Rivera or the shooting,
26:38
Speaker 2: that Carlos called some businesses around that bar, allegedly looking
26:43
Speaker 2: for surveillance footage that showed the incident. In the summer
26:46
Speaker 2: of twenty twenty five, Crystal's family held a press conference.
26:50
Speaker 2: They claimed they didn't believe this unintentional discharge story, saying
26:54
Speaker 2: that it quote does not yet pass the smell test
26:57
Speaker 2: end quote. Through his attorneys, Carlos has completely denied the
27:01
Speaker 2: claims made in the lawsuit and said that Krystal's family
27:05
Speaker 2: is creating their own false narrative. Carlos does have support.
27:10
Speaker 2: The president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge seven,
27:13
Speaker 2: also criticized Krystal's family narrative and said, in his opinion,
27:18
Speaker 2: everything related to Carlos Baker firing his weapon occurred in
27:22
Speaker 2: under three seconds. So was the relevant moment, as Carlos
27:26
Speaker 2: and his attorneys claimed, just those seconds in the apartment
27:29
Speaker 2: building or was it everything building up to that. Was
27:33
Speaker 2: this a split second tactical accident, or was it a
27:36
Speaker 2: foreseeable workplace and supervisory failure. Let's go back to the video.
27:42
Speaker 2: Back to the chase scene. Carlo and Crystal were going
27:44
Speaker 2: up the stairs. Carlos was in front, Crystal was behind him.
27:48
Speaker 2: Carlos got to the door first. He was standing right
27:50
Speaker 2: in front of it with his gun pulled out. The
27:53
Speaker 2: lawsuit A ledges Carlos kicked open the door and saw
27:56
Speaker 2: this person who we now know to be Adrian Rucker,
27:59
Speaker 2: allegedly pointing a rifle at him, and Carlos shot, but
28:03
Speaker 2: instead of shooting Adrian, he shot Crystal.
28:07
Speaker 3: Crystal was shot in the back.
28:10
Speaker 2: In April twenty twenty six, COPA released video and other
28:15
Speaker 2: materials connected to the shooting, and that release included the
28:19
Speaker 2: body worn camera footage from Crystal and Carlos. But even
28:22
Speaker 2: the video footage is controversial because Crystal's family and attorneys
28:26
Speaker 2: have stated that they had previously viewed footage, that footage
28:30
Speaker 2: was hours long, and they believed there was at least
28:33
Speaker 2: one discrepancy between what they saw earlier and what was
28:36
Speaker 2: released publicly. COPA have said their investigation is still ongoing.
28:42
Speaker 2: The Chicago Police Department has said something similar that due
28:45
Speaker 2: to the fact that this is an active investigation. The
28:48
Speaker 2: department would not comment further, so that means the body
28:51
Speaker 2: cam footage and the release did not settle this case. Instead,
28:56
Speaker 2: it became part of the dispute. One of the hardest
29:01
Speaker 2: questions in this case is intent. Did Carlos mean to fire,
29:05
Speaker 2: did he know where Crystal was? Or was it purely accidental.
29:09
Speaker 2: The answers have to come from evidence, including body camera footage,
29:12
Speaker 2: but also a lot of other details, everything from the
29:16
Speaker 2: layout of the hallway and the angle of the shots,
29:18
Speaker 2: statements of other officers, prior complaints, and a lot of
29:22
Speaker 2: other evidence.
29:24
Speaker 3: Reports say Carlos.
29:25
Speaker 2: Has been relieved of his police powers, they don't say
29:28
Speaker 2: that he was fired. They don't explain exactly what that means.
29:31
Speaker 2: And again, even that was reportedly due to an unrelated incident.
29:36
Speaker 2: Krystal's family has filed this civil lawsuit, but it's just
29:39
Speaker 2: in the beginning stages.
29:41
Speaker 3: We do not know whether the shooting will.
29:43
Speaker 2: Ultimately be treated as a tragic accident, a policy failure,
29:46
Speaker 2: a foreseeable workplace danger, or something more. Or there could
29:51
Speaker 2: be a settlement and we may never find out a
29:53
Speaker 2: lot of these details. Many police shooting cases ask what
29:59
Speaker 2: happened between officers and members of the public. This one
30:02
Speaker 2: asked what happened inside this police department if the family's
30:06
Speaker 2: allegations are true. Crystal did what people are often told
30:10
Speaker 2: to do. She raised concerns. She said she wanted to
30:13
Speaker 2: be kept safe and after ending a relationship, wanted to
30:16
Speaker 2: be separated from someone who her family claimed had shown
30:20
Speaker 2: up at her home at least once uninvited, and the
30:23
Speaker 2: institution that employed both of them chose to keep them together.
30:27
Speaker 2: So this raises a lot of questions about what happens
30:30
Speaker 2: when one officer says another officer is reckless or unsafe,
30:34
Speaker 2: how misconduct complaints are treated, who is responsible for making
30:37
Speaker 2: sure that two officers should not be assigned together, and
30:41
Speaker 2: what happens when the officer raising concern is a woman
30:45
Speaker 2: inside a male dominated institution. Was Crystal Rivera's death an
30:50
Speaker 2: unforseeable accident in a chaotic hallway or was it the
30:54
Speaker 2: final result of multiple warning signs that Chicago police ignored
30:58
Speaker 2: until it was too late. I'm Catherine Townsend. This is
31:03
Speaker 2: Helen Gone Murder Line. Helen Gone Murderline is a production
31:07
Speaker 2: of School of Humans and iHeart Podcasts. It's written and
31:10
Speaker 2: narrated by me Catherine Townsend and produced by Etily's Perez
31:14
Speaker 2: Special thanks to Amy Tubbs for a research assistance and
31:18
Speaker 2: Sarah Burns for legal review. Noah camer mixed and scored
31:21
Speaker 2: this episode. Our theme song is by Ben Sale, Executive
31:25
Speaker 2: producers of Virginia Prescott, Brandon Barr, and L. C.
31:28
Speaker 3: Crowley.
31:29
Speaker 2: Listen to Helen Gone Ad free by subscribing to the
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Speaker 2: iHeart True Crime Plush channel on Apple Podcasts. If you
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Speaker 2: were interested in seeing documents and materials from the case,
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Speaker 2: you can follow the show on Instagram at Helen Gonepod.
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Speaker 2: team to look into, you can reach out to us
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