WEBVTT - Hell and Gone Murder Line: Krystal Rivera 0:00:46.480 --> 0:00:51.960 School of Humans. Helen Got Murder Line actively investigates cold 0:00:52.040 --> 0:00:55.360 case murders in an effort to raise public awareness invite 0:00:55.400 --> 0:00:58.760 witnesses to come forward and present evidence that could potentially 0:00:58.840 --> 0:01:02.960 be further investigated by law enforcement. While we value insights 0:01:03.000 --> 0:01:06.160 from family and community members, their statements should not be 0:01:06.200 --> 0:01:09.960 considered evidence and point to the challenges of verifying facts 0:01:10.040 --> 0:01:14.000 inherent in cold cases. We remind listeners that everyone has 0:01:14.080 --> 0:01:17.160 presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. 0:01:17.960 --> 0:01:20.840 Nothing in the podcast is intended to state or imply 0:01:21.040 --> 0:01:23.600 that anyone who has not been convicted of a crime 0:01:24.120 --> 0:01:27.040 is guilty of any wrongdoing. Thanks for listening. 0:01:29.480 --> 0:01:32.840 On June fifth, twenty twenty five, thirty six year old 0:01:32.920 --> 0:01:37.080 Chicago Police officer Crystal Rivera was working patrol in the 0:01:37.120 --> 0:01:40.360 East Chatham neighborhood on Chicago's South Side. She was with 0:01:40.480 --> 0:01:45.840 her partner, officer Carlos Baker. Crystal had recently passed her 0:01:45.880 --> 0:01:48.760 four year anniversary with the Chicago Police Department. 0:01:49.240 --> 0:01:50.560 She loved her job. 0:01:51.320 --> 0:01:54.720 Kristel was a single mother to young daughter Isabella, and 0:01:54.760 --> 0:01:58.480 she had been working with Carlos for several years. They 0:01:58.520 --> 0:02:03.560 were both members of CPD's sixth District Tactical Team. That night, 0:02:03.920 --> 0:02:06.440 they were patrolling near the eighty two hundred block of 0:02:06.440 --> 0:02:10.760 South Drex Avenue. It was an ordinary night until about 0:02:10.840 --> 0:02:14.680 nine to fifty pm. That's when Carlos Baker and Crystal 0:02:14.760 --> 0:02:17.960 Rivera saw a man outside an apartment building on South 0:02:18.040 --> 0:02:19.400 Drex Avenue. 0:02:19.480 --> 0:02:20.640 The man would later. 0:02:20.480 --> 0:02:25.680 Be identified by police as Jalen Arnold. According to prosecutors, 0:02:25.800 --> 0:02:29.360 the officers believed that Jalen might be armed. They said 0:02:29.480 --> 0:02:33.160 he had an unusually large bulge under his jacket, something 0:02:33.200 --> 0:02:37.200 that appeared consistent with a firearm or a drum magazine. 0:02:37.440 --> 0:02:41.560 Carlos and Crystal approached Jalen, and Jalen ran, so they 0:02:41.640 --> 0:02:44.960 ran after him. These moments would later be captured on 0:02:45.040 --> 0:02:47.480 both Carlos and Crystal's body cameras. 0:02:48.600 --> 0:02:54.880 Yes, what is that? 0:02:56.200 --> 0:02:59.200 On the footage, the officers can be seen running up 0:02:59.240 --> 0:03:02.520 to the apartment door and yelling for Jalen to show 0:03:02.560 --> 0:03:06.120 them his hands. They appear to be buzzing different doors. 0:03:06.600 --> 0:03:10.480 You can hear someone yelling police in the background, and 0:03:10.560 --> 0:03:13.560 eventually it appears as though someone lets the officers in. 0:03:22.040 --> 0:03:25.440 Once the chase went into the apartment building, they ran 0:03:25.600 --> 0:03:28.360 up a flight of stairs toward a second four apartment. 0:03:29.000 --> 0:03:32.600 On the video, you can see Jalen in front of them, 0:03:33.080 --> 0:03:37.080 Carlos was behind him, and Crystal was behind Carlos. Both 0:03:37.160 --> 0:03:41.360 Carlos and Crystal had their guns drawn. This hallway was narrow, 0:03:41.880 --> 0:03:45.400 They were breathing hard, and then Carlos kicked in the door. 0:03:54.280 --> 0:03:57.720 After he kicked in the door, Carlos saw something behind 0:03:57.760 --> 0:04:01.520 that door. He fired a shot from his weapon, but 0:04:01.840 --> 0:04:03.400 it didn't hit the suspect. 0:04:03.920 --> 0:04:04.720 It hit Crystal. 0:04:06.000 --> 0:04:09.520 And what happened after that splits this case into two 0:04:09.560 --> 0:04:14.280 different timelines. The first one is Carlos Baker's timeline, because 0:04:14.560 --> 0:04:17.760 both he and his defenders say that everything relevant to 0:04:17.840 --> 0:04:20.400 this case happened in a matter of seconds in a 0:04:20.480 --> 0:04:24.360 narrow hallway during a dangerous pursuit with two armed men 0:04:24.600 --> 0:04:28.360 inside an apartment. But Crystal Rivera's family claims in a 0:04:28.440 --> 0:04:32.240 lawsuit that that timeline is too short. They say there's 0:04:32.320 --> 0:04:35.360 another timeline, one that is much longer, and one that 0:04:35.440 --> 0:04:38.880 started long before that fateful chase into the apartment building. 0:04:39.680 --> 0:04:44.320 Crystal's family claims that this timeline started years or with 0:04:44.400 --> 0:04:48.560 Carlos and Crystal. They say the two weren't just partners 0:04:48.560 --> 0:04:51.880 on the job, they were romantically involved, and they had 0:04:51.920 --> 0:04:56.440 recently gone through a painful breakup. Then not long after that, 0:04:57.280 --> 0:05:02.360 one of them ended up dead. I'm Catherine Townsend. Over 0:05:02.400 --> 0:05:04.840 the past eight years of making my true crime podcast, 0:05:04.840 --> 0:05:07.480 Helen Gone, I've learned that there is no such thing 0:05:07.800 --> 0:05:11.080 as a small town where murder never happens. I have 0:05:11.200 --> 0:05:14.680 received hundreds of messages from people all around the country 0:05:14.720 --> 0:05:17.520 asking for help with an unsolved murder that's affected them, 0:05:17.920 --> 0:05:21.840 their families, and their communities. If you have a case 0:05:21.880 --> 0:05:24.040 you'd like me and my team to look into, you 0:05:24.080 --> 0:05:26.160 can reach out to us at our Helen Gone Murder 0:05:26.200 --> 0:05:29.680 Line at six seven eight seven four four six one 0:05:29.760 --> 0:05:33.560 four five. That's six seven eight seven four four six 0:05:33.720 --> 0:05:36.760 one four five, or you can send us a message 0:05:36.800 --> 0:06:23.720 on Instagram at Helen Gonepod. This is Helen Gone Murder Line. 0:06:27.680 --> 0:06:31.440 According to Crystal's obituary, she began her training to join 0:06:31.480 --> 0:06:34.280 the police department when she was just eighteen years old. 0:06:34.880 --> 0:06:37.680 She considered going to join the army, but wanted to 0:06:37.720 --> 0:06:42.640 serve her community locally. After she joined the Chicago Police Department, 0:06:43.040 --> 0:06:47.400 she had dreams of becoming a forensic investigator, but Cristel 0:06:47.480 --> 0:06:50.040 was juggling a lot. She had a full time job, 0:06:50.120 --> 0:06:53.160 and she was taking care of her young daughter, Isabella, who, 0:06:53.240 --> 0:06:57.760 according to her family, was Cristel's whole world. Cristel was 0:06:57.840 --> 0:07:01.360 researching online classes to see if part time studying for 0:07:01.360 --> 0:07:04.880 forensics would be an option. Her family wrote in her 0:07:04.880 --> 0:07:07.360 obituary that she was known for her sense of humor 0:07:07.400 --> 0:07:11.520 and her passions, which included fashion and horses, and also 0:07:11.720 --> 0:07:15.200 staying physically fit. She always made time to go to 0:07:15.240 --> 0:07:19.320 the gym. The obituary read quote, Though she gave much 0:07:19.360 --> 0:07:23.040 to her work and goals, Cristel's number one priority was 0:07:23.080 --> 0:07:26.320 always her daughter, Isabella. Her daughter was the center of 0:07:26.360 --> 0:07:30.120 her world, and everything she did was with Isabella in mind. 0:07:30.720 --> 0:07:32.000 End quote. 0:07:32.400 --> 0:07:35.760 Christel loved her job, and her mom said though members 0:07:35.800 --> 0:07:39.160 of the family had worked in law enforcement, Cristel was 0:07:39.160 --> 0:07:43.720 the family's first female police officer, and on June second, 0:07:43.720 --> 0:07:48.360 twenty five, Crystal was working with Carlos Baker. Carlos was 0:07:48.400 --> 0:07:50.960 her partner, which in police work is more than just 0:07:51.000 --> 0:07:54.400 a work partner. This is someone you regularly have to 0:07:54.480 --> 0:07:58.280 trust with your life, and in Crystal and Carlos's case, 0:07:58.720 --> 0:08:02.520 this was an even more complicated dynamic because, according to 0:08:02.560 --> 0:08:06.320 Krystal's family. Carlos and Crystal had been in a long 0:08:06.400 --> 0:08:12.000 term relationship and had recently split. Crystal and Carlos were 0:08:12.080 --> 0:08:16.960 on the CPD's sixth District Tactical Team. The police Department 0:08:17.000 --> 0:08:19.920 in Chicago has twenty two of these Tactical Unit teams 0:08:19.920 --> 0:08:23.880 and they're charged with proactively dealing with crime. They often 0:08:23.920 --> 0:08:27.960 deploy in undercover vehicles or while wearing street clothes, and 0:08:28.000 --> 0:08:30.080 this is in an area that has quite a bit 0:08:30.160 --> 0:08:34.120 of violence and property crime. So, as we said before, 0:08:34.280 --> 0:08:38.760 Carlos and Crystal were pursuing Jalen. Bodycam footage has been 0:08:38.800 --> 0:08:43.680 released by Chicago's civilian Office of Police Accountability. This footage 0:08:43.800 --> 0:08:48.240 shows the chase from both Crystal and Carlos's perspectives. So 0:08:48.600 --> 0:08:52.120 let's start with timeline one, the short timeline, the one 0:08:52.160 --> 0:08:56.720 that Carlos Baker's attorney has focused on. This timeline starts 0:08:56.760 --> 0:08:59.320 with the chase, the apartment, the shot, and the two 0:08:59.360 --> 0:09:03.320 minutes that followed. This footage is chaotic, but in that 0:09:03.400 --> 0:09:06.320 body cam footage, Carlos is in the front and Crystal 0:09:06.400 --> 0:09:08.880 is behind him. You can see them moving through the 0:09:08.920 --> 0:09:12.080 stairwell toward the second four apartment. Both of them have 0:09:12.160 --> 0:09:15.600 their guns out. Carlos runs into an apartment at the 0:09:15.680 --> 0:09:20.120 end of the hallway. Then Crystal reaches the doorway. Carlos's 0:09:20.120 --> 0:09:23.720 footage shows him crouching and kicking in the door. If 0:09:23.720 --> 0:09:27.920 you freeze frame, Jalen is visible, you can see him 0:09:28.040 --> 0:09:31.560 jumping over a couch to hide. There was another man 0:09:31.640 --> 0:09:35.520 inside as well. This man was later identified as Adrian Rucker. 0:09:36.280 --> 0:09:40.120 According to the CPD, Adrian Rucker had an ar style 0:09:40.240 --> 0:09:44.280 long rifle which he allegedly pointed at Carlos, and then 0:09:44.920 --> 0:09:49.080 Carlos appears to spin around and you can hear one gunshot. 0:09:49.520 --> 0:09:50.520 Carlos fires. 0:09:51.000 --> 0:09:54.080 At the same time, Crystal's body camera captures the sound 0:09:54.240 --> 0:09:59.280 of the gunshot and a woman screaming. That woman was Crystal. 0:10:00.080 --> 0:10:03.920 Carlos's shot had not hit Jalen or Adrian. It hit 0:10:04.000 --> 0:10:08.560 his partner, Crystal Rivera. Crystal was lying in a pool 0:10:08.560 --> 0:10:12.200 of blood. She radioed in for assistance, but the dispatcher 0:10:12.240 --> 0:10:15.280 couldn't hear her, and because she was so badly hurt, 0:10:15.680 --> 0:10:19.760 she was unable to repeat that she needed help. Carlos 0:10:19.800 --> 0:10:23.560 Baker's firearm fired that single shot that killed Crystal Rivera. 0:10:24.160 --> 0:10:27.480 That part is not in dispute. What is disputed is 0:10:27.560 --> 0:10:33.000 how and why that shot was fired. Carlos Baker, through 0:10:33.040 --> 0:10:36.680 his attorney, has said this was an unintentional discharge of 0:10:36.720 --> 0:10:40.080 his firearm. His attorney has described it as a split 0:10:40.120 --> 0:10:43.680 second judgment call in a life or death situation. Prosecute 0:10:44.040 --> 0:10:47.760 have also described the shooting as accidental, and Carlos has 0:10:47.880 --> 0:10:50.840 not been charged with any crime in connection with this incident. 0:10:51.600 --> 0:10:54.840 But Crystal Rivera's family does not accept the idea that 0:10:54.880 --> 0:10:59.360 the word accident explains what happened, because they claim this 0:10:59.480 --> 0:11:02.480 shooting has to be understood in a larger context. 0:11:03.160 --> 0:11:04.400 But before we get to that. 0:11:04.400 --> 0:11:07.120 Second timeline, we have to stay inside the first one, 0:11:07.600 --> 0:11:10.080 because the first timeline does not end with a gunshot. 0:11:10.400 --> 0:11:14.440 It continues with what Carlos Baker did next. After firing 0:11:14.440 --> 0:11:18.520 that shot, Carlos ran up another flight of stairs. He 0:11:18.680 --> 0:11:22.200 radioed the police that shots were fired at police, and 0:11:22.240 --> 0:11:24.080 then he made a call for a ten. 0:11:23.960 --> 0:11:30.680 To one, an emergency call for assistance. Shot fire, tadline, 0:11:31.000 --> 0:11:38.440 shot police turn what you can hear him breathing heavily. 0:11:39.280 --> 0:11:42.520 Then about thirty seconds later, Carlos calls out to Crystal, 0:11:42.600 --> 0:11:44.400 asking Crystal you good. 0:11:44.680 --> 0:11:55.080 Crystal, We have an ambulance. Ambulance, No, I can't get 0:11:55.160 --> 0:11:55.600 my corner. 0:11:57.520 --> 0:12:02.960 After that, it's silence. Crystal does not answer. Then Carlos 0:12:03.040 --> 0:12:06.440 requests an ambulance. He says he can't get down to Crystal. 0:12:07.040 --> 0:12:10.360 According to the footage summary, Carlos starts back down the 0:12:10.360 --> 0:12:13.760 stairs again. Then he appears to hesitate and go back 0:12:13.800 --> 0:12:17.360 up the stairs. Then he asks for a swat team. 0:12:17.600 --> 0:12:21.320 Around two minutes after the shooting, Carlos goes back down 0:12:21.360 --> 0:12:24.880 the stairs. He reaches Crystal, who is lying motionless in 0:12:24.920 --> 0:12:26.800 a pool of blood. 0:12:26.440 --> 0:12:32.440 Second floor. Hurry on, Christal, hear me, hear me? 0:12:33.360 --> 0:12:36.400 All right, I heard the second floor. 0:12:36.480 --> 0:12:38.160 What's the second poor? 0:12:38.880 --> 0:12:43.040 The video shows Carlos pulling Crystal towards the stairs. He says, 0:12:43.160 --> 0:12:46.360 come on and stay with me, Chris, and then the 0:12:46.440 --> 0:12:50.800 other officers arrive on the scene. When they do, Carlos 0:12:50.840 --> 0:12:53.320 tells the other officers to get Crystal in the car 0:12:53.480 --> 0:12:56.680 and take her to the hospital. Crystal was taken to 0:12:56.760 --> 0:13:01.200 the hospital where she later died. So in timeline won 0:13:01.280 --> 0:13:05.000 there are really two key moments, the three seconds before 0:13:05.040 --> 0:13:08.480 the shot and the two minutes after it. Carlos, Baker's 0:13:08.480 --> 0:13:12.680 attorney says those first seconds are what matter most. He 0:13:12.840 --> 0:13:16.960 claims that Carlos was confronting a dangerous situation with two 0:13:17.360 --> 0:13:22.120 armed men inside the apartment. According to police, Jalen Arnold 0:13:22.160 --> 0:13:25.360 had a loaded handgun on him and Adrian Rucker was 0:13:25.400 --> 0:13:29.000 pointing an ar style long rifle at Carlos Baker when 0:13:29.040 --> 0:13:33.240 Carlos fired his weapon. According to police, Carlos's attorney has 0:13:33.240 --> 0:13:37.720 said when Adrian pointed that rifle at Carlos, Carlos stumbled. 0:13:38.000 --> 0:13:40.240 That's when he stepped back, and that is when this 0:13:40.320 --> 0:13:45.480 alleged accidental discharge happened. Carlos's attorney said Carlos was afraid 0:13:45.520 --> 0:13:47.800 for his life and that his actions on the video 0:13:47.880 --> 0:13:51.520 show that Carlos was acting within CPD policy. That the 0:13:51.600 --> 0:13:54.800 video proved Carlos did everything in his power and used 0:13:54.800 --> 0:13:59.040 his training to give aid to Crystal. The attorneys said 0:13:59.320 --> 0:14:02.600 people should not blame Carlos Baker, they should blame the 0:14:02.640 --> 0:14:07.240 two armed felons. The attorney says the reason Crystal died 0:14:07.440 --> 0:14:10.240 is because a person decided to run from the police 0:14:10.280 --> 0:14:14.040 with a loaded handgun and because another person allegedly pointed 0:14:14.080 --> 0:14:18.120 a rifle at officers. Jalen Arnold was later charged with 0:14:18.240 --> 0:14:21.320 armed violence, possession of a firearm by a repeat felon, 0:14:21.680 --> 0:14:26.360 and possession of cocaine. After pleading guilty to unlawful possession 0:14:26.360 --> 0:14:29.800 of a weapon, Jalen was sentenced to eight years in prison. 0:14:30.720 --> 0:14:33.200 Police later said that at the time of his arrest, 0:14:33.560 --> 0:14:37.520 Adrian Rutger had six outstanding warrants on him. On July seventh, 0:14:37.600 --> 0:14:41.160 twenty twenty five, Adrian Rutger was charged with several counts, 0:14:41.200 --> 0:14:44.280 including possession of a controlled substance within ten to deliver, 0:14:44.720 --> 0:14:52.520 possession of fraudulent identification cards, and unlawful possession of a firearm. 0:14:52.560 --> 0:14:56.040 But Cristel Rivera's family looks at that same timeline and 0:14:56.120 --> 0:15:00.960 sees something entirely different. It's the same footage, but they 0:15:01.040 --> 0:15:03.880 have a version of events that they say raises a 0:15:03.960 --> 0:15:18.760 whole new set of questions. In a lawsuit filed by 0:15:18.840 --> 0:15:22.360 Crystal's family, they claim that the two minute time frame 0:15:22.600 --> 0:15:25.560 when Carlos went up the stairs and left Crystal there 0:15:25.720 --> 0:15:29.360 was critical. They alleged that he failed to immediately give 0:15:29.360 --> 0:15:33.160 her medical aid that meant she was lying there dying, 0:15:33.400 --> 0:15:36.240 when the lawsuit says her partner should have been trying 0:15:36.240 --> 0:15:40.280 to save her life. The family's lawsuit also questions why 0:15:40.320 --> 0:15:45.120 Carlos said shots fired at police if Carlo was allegedly 0:15:45.240 --> 0:15:48.400 the only person who fired a weapon. This seems to 0:15:48.440 --> 0:15:52.560 be a legally important point because if Carlos believed there 0:15:52.600 --> 0:15:55.600 was still an active threat, that could affect how his 0:15:55.680 --> 0:15:56.600 actions were judged. 0:15:57.080 --> 0:15:58.280 But the lawsuit. 0:15:57.800 --> 0:16:01.640 Claims Carlos never admitted or clarified that the shot at 0:16:01.680 --> 0:16:06.080 police came from his own gun. According to the lawsuit, 0:16:06.120 --> 0:16:09.080 there was no other gun fired during the encounter, just 0:16:09.240 --> 0:16:12.760 the single shot from Carlos Baker's weapon, the shot that 0:16:12.880 --> 0:16:18.200 struck and ultimately killed Crystal. Carlos Baker's attorney disputes the 0:16:18.200 --> 0:16:22.720 family's characterization. He says Carlos did call for an ambulance 0:16:23.040 --> 0:16:25.080 and that he went back down the stairs to try 0:16:25.120 --> 0:16:28.360 to reach Crystal. Crystal's family said that was too little, 0:16:28.400 --> 0:16:31.720 too late. That's why the two minutes after the shot 0:16:31.880 --> 0:16:34.720 had become one of the most important parts of this case. 0:16:35.840 --> 0:16:40.080 But Crystal's family said, really, the most important timeline started 0:16:40.240 --> 0:16:43.640 way before the night Crystal was shot. The family has 0:16:43.840 --> 0:16:46.560 said they believe you can't understand what happened on that 0:16:46.640 --> 0:16:51.240 fateful night without understanding the history between Carlos and Crystal. 0:16:52.120 --> 0:16:56.200 Because Carlos wasn't just Cristel's partner, he was her ex boyfriend. 0:16:57.000 --> 0:16:59.680 Crystal's family lays a lot of these claims out in 0:16:59.720 --> 0:17:03.080 their civil lawsuit. They have filed it in Cook County 0:17:03.160 --> 0:17:06.680 on behalf of Yolanda Rivera, Cristel's mother, and the administrator 0:17:06.680 --> 0:17:11.080 of her estate. The defendants include Carlos Baker, but also 0:17:11.360 --> 0:17:15.720 the City of Chicago. Because the lawsuit alleges Crystal Rivera's 0:17:15.760 --> 0:17:18.960 death was not only caused by Carlos's conduct on the 0:17:19.040 --> 0:17:21.760 night of the shooting, It alleges that her death was 0:17:21.800 --> 0:17:25.600 also the foreseeable result of the City of Chicago's negligence 0:17:25.640 --> 0:17:29.840 in hiring Carlos, in supervising him, and in assigning him. 0:17:29.720 --> 0:17:30.680 As Crystal's partner. 0:17:31.760 --> 0:17:35.080 It's important to state these argist allegations. They are only 0:17:35.120 --> 0:17:37.200 one side of the story and they have not been 0:17:37.240 --> 0:17:40.680 proven in a court of law. The family lawsuit alleges 0:17:40.720 --> 0:17:43.760 that Cristel Rivera and Carlos Baker had been an on 0:17:43.720 --> 0:17:47.920 and off romantic relationship for a long time. It alleges 0:17:48.000 --> 0:17:51.280 the relationship began in twenty twenty three while they were 0:17:51.320 --> 0:17:54.560 working together as CPD partners, and that they dated for 0:17:54.600 --> 0:17:58.000 about two years, and that officers on the police force 0:17:58.080 --> 0:18:01.480 were aware of Carlos and Crystal's relationship and that they 0:18:01.480 --> 0:18:04.120 had been aware of it since around September of twenty 0:18:04.160 --> 0:18:08.200 twenty three. But there's more because, according to the lawsuit, 0:18:08.520 --> 0:18:11.880 Crystal ended the relationship with Carlos shortly before her. 0:18:11.800 --> 0:18:15.080 Death, and the reason for her ending it. 0:18:15.080 --> 0:18:20.000 According to court documents, was because Carlos was quote involved 0:18:20.000 --> 0:18:22.520 with another woman that Crystal learned about it, and that 0:18:22.640 --> 0:18:25.600 Cristel said she intended to tell that woman about her 0:18:25.640 --> 0:18:29.720 relationship with Carlos end quote. So, the lawsuit states that 0:18:29.760 --> 0:18:33.960 Cristal learned about Carlos's other long term relationship with another 0:18:34.000 --> 0:18:37.480 woman in February of twenty twenty five, and that in 0:18:37.520 --> 0:18:39.920 May of twenty twenty five, Crystal broke. 0:18:39.760 --> 0:18:40.240 Up with him. 0:18:40.960 --> 0:18:45.080 But Crystal's family said they believed the timeline starts even 0:18:45.120 --> 0:18:49.800 earlier than that because Kristal's family attorney says the Chicago 0:18:49.920 --> 0:18:54.320 Police Department had quote important knowledge that Chicago police officer 0:18:54.360 --> 0:18:58.480 Carlos Baker posed a threat to women, including Crystal. Yet 0:18:58.600 --> 0:19:03.000 despite multiple citizen and pure complaints about Baker's behavior and 0:19:03.080 --> 0:19:05.920 Crystal's informing superiors that she thought he was reckless in 0:19:05.920 --> 0:19:09.520 the past. The two were paired together as partners on 0:19:09.640 --> 0:19:13.960 duty end quote. So the lawsuit claims Carlos and Crystal 0:19:14.000 --> 0:19:16.680 had been arguing because Cristel was about to confess to 0:19:16.760 --> 0:19:20.040 Carlos's live in girlfriend that they had been in a 0:19:20.120 --> 0:19:24.960 romantic relationship. The lawsuit states that they believed that Carlos's 0:19:24.960 --> 0:19:28.960 girlfriend was unaware of his relationship with Crystal, So if 0:19:29.000 --> 0:19:32.800 these claims are true, this could potentially have been a 0:19:32.920 --> 0:19:37.680 situation with a lot of potential for conflict. After Crystal 0:19:37.800 --> 0:19:40.880 ended her romantic relationship with Carlos in May of twenty 0:19:40.920 --> 0:19:45.480 twenty five, she expressed concerns to her CPD colleagues about 0:19:45.520 --> 0:19:49.240 what court documents claim were his adverse and hostile reaction 0:19:49.320 --> 0:19:53.200 to the breakup and his continued attempts to contact Crystal 0:19:53.240 --> 0:19:57.200 outside of work about personal matters. During this time, Crystal 0:19:57.320 --> 0:20:00.240 was allegedly telling Carlos she was going to tell his 0:20:00.280 --> 0:20:03.720 girlfriend about their relationship, and then in the early morning 0:20:03.760 --> 0:20:07.240 hours of June fourth, twenty twenty five, which would have 0:20:07.280 --> 0:20:11.080 been less than forty eight hours before Crystal's death, Carlos 0:20:11.080 --> 0:20:15.120 showed up at Crystal's home uninvited after she told him 0:20:15.240 --> 0:20:19.520 specifically not to come there. Just hours later, she would 0:20:19.560 --> 0:20:23.440 die from a gunshot wound, while the lawsuit claims Carlos 0:20:23.560 --> 0:20:26.480 quote stood by and did nothing to save her. 0:20:26.320 --> 0:20:28.920 Life end quote. 0:20:29.000 --> 0:20:32.680 The lawsuit calls Carlos a danger to women and claimed 0:20:32.720 --> 0:20:35.680 that as early as twenty twenty two that Carlos was 0:20:35.800 --> 0:20:39.200 quote hostile and threatening to women outside of his professional 0:20:39.200 --> 0:20:44.720 capacity end quote. Carlos's attorney, Tim Gray said in a 0:20:44.760 --> 0:20:48.920 statement which was reported by the Illinois Answers Project in 0:20:48.960 --> 0:20:53.040 conjunction with the Chicago Sun Times that quote Officer Baker 0:20:53.080 --> 0:20:55.480 is heartbroken over what happened on that night and will 0:20:55.520 --> 0:20:59.080 privately process his grief. The focus should not be on 0:20:59.160 --> 0:21:02.400 second guessing each tactical decision made, but rather on the 0:21:02.440 --> 0:21:05.840 profound loss of a great police officer an equally great person. 0:21:06.360 --> 0:21:10.000 Policing is a dangerous profession, and it is no easy 0:21:10.040 --> 0:21:12.680 task to keep the people of the city safe. 0:21:12.920 --> 0:21:14.400 End quote. 0:21:15.000 --> 0:21:19.120 In twenty twenty two, the lawsuit claims that a former 0:21:19.200 --> 0:21:23.080 love interest of Carlos filed a restraining order against him. Again, 0:21:23.440 --> 0:21:26.280 none of these claims have been tested in court, but 0:21:26.920 --> 0:21:29.800 it does bring up an interesting question about what happens 0:21:29.920 --> 0:21:33.040 when there's a personal relationship between two partners and things 0:21:33.040 --> 0:21:36.880 go south, and whether warning signs could have been ignored. 0:21:38.320 --> 0:21:42.320 The word partner in police work is interesting because it 0:21:42.520 --> 0:21:45.680 means a lot more than just work colleagues. A partner 0:21:45.680 --> 0:21:48.640 in police work is someone you literally have to trust 0:21:48.720 --> 0:21:52.000 with your life every day. But a natural question that 0:21:52.080 --> 0:21:55.560 comes to mind for me is when something like this happens, 0:21:55.600 --> 0:21:58.560 when partners in life and partners in police work go 0:21:58.640 --> 0:22:02.520 through a breakup, what's the protocol? Can they ask to 0:22:02.560 --> 0:22:05.920 be reassigned? So I took a look at the CPD's 0:22:05.960 --> 0:22:09.400 official policy since I haven't seen any reports on this, 0:22:09.760 --> 0:22:12.560 and it turns out that the answer is it's complicated 0:22:13.040 --> 0:22:16.000 because there are very specific rules in play. If they're 0:22:16.040 --> 0:22:20.080 dealing with someone who's a supervisor of someone else, officers 0:22:20.240 --> 0:22:23.600 are banned from having relationships with people who are below 0:22:23.640 --> 0:22:27.160 them on the food chain. For example, officers can't start 0:22:27.200 --> 0:22:32.000 relationships with recruits. There are also rules banning sex while 0:22:32.040 --> 0:22:37.120 on duty, but peer to peer relationships relationships between professional 0:22:37.160 --> 0:22:42.200 equals are more complicated. The Police State quote. While peer 0:22:42.280 --> 0:22:46.920 level officers are really allowed to date, they face heavy restrictions, 0:22:46.920 --> 0:22:52.600 including shift assignments. Partner pairings and training environments. There are 0:22:52.640 --> 0:22:56.400 also rules involving chain of command in general, so if 0:22:56.440 --> 0:22:59.520 one person in a romantic relationship is promoted, for example, 0:22:59.880 --> 0:23:03.560 they are supposed to formally disclose the relationship to internal 0:23:03.560 --> 0:23:07.760 affairs or human resources. CBS News reported these rules exist 0:23:07.880 --> 0:23:10.600 because of a few reasons. First, of all, police forces 0:23:10.640 --> 0:23:14.480 want to dissuade people from filing hostile work environment lawsuits. 0:23:14.800 --> 0:23:18.560 But also if a bad breakup between officers happen, like 0:23:18.640 --> 0:23:22.240 the one Crystal's family allege happened between her and Carlos, 0:23:22.880 --> 0:23:26.200 this can become a major safety issue, both for the 0:23:26.280 --> 0:23:30.880 officers involved and also for their colleagues and the general public. 0:23:41.000 --> 0:23:44.600 Crystal's family lawsuit claims that after her relationship with Carlos ended, 0:23:44.800 --> 0:23:48.480 that Crystal did express an interest to be reassigned or 0:23:48.560 --> 0:23:52.080 given a different partner. It's not yet clear what those 0:23:52.120 --> 0:23:57.080 communications were with the CPD supervisors, but on June fifth, 0:23:57.120 --> 0:24:00.880 twenty twenty five, Carlos and Crystal were still working together. 0:24:01.120 --> 0:24:04.280 But it's interesting because the lawsuit goes even further back 0:24:04.360 --> 0:24:07.680 and says not only should Cristal and Carlos have not 0:24:07.800 --> 0:24:11.080 been working together that night, it alleges that by the 0:24:11.120 --> 0:24:14.600 Police Department allowing her to be partnered with Carlos, that 0:24:14.680 --> 0:24:18.680 the department put Crystal in a dangerous position before that 0:24:18.760 --> 0:24:23.800 pursuit ever began. The lawsuit also focuses on Carlos's history 0:24:23.880 --> 0:24:28.120 inside the Chicago Police Department. Carlos, according to the complaint, 0:24:28.240 --> 0:24:32.720 had accumulated at least eleven misconduct complaints in less than 0:24:32.760 --> 0:24:36.000 three years on the force, which was a complaint history 0:24:36.280 --> 0:24:41.120 worse than ninety five percent of CPD officers. The Chicago 0:24:41.240 --> 0:24:44.760 Sun Times also reported that why all Carlos was a 0:24:44.760 --> 0:24:48.720 probationary officer, a woman he had dated filed a complaint 0:24:48.800 --> 0:24:51.640 alleging that he flashed a gun at her in December 0:24:51.640 --> 0:24:55.200 of twenty twenty two. The reporting by the Sun Times 0:24:55.200 --> 0:24:58.680 and the Illinois Answers Project gave more details about that incident, 0:24:59.200 --> 0:25:02.240 stating that the woman whom Carlos was dating showed up 0:25:02.280 --> 0:25:04.560 at a bar called Blue Light while she was on 0:25:04.600 --> 0:25:06.800 a date with another man, and that Carlos showed up 0:25:06.800 --> 0:25:10.120 and allegedly said who the fuck is that guy, before 0:25:10.200 --> 0:25:12.920 lifting his shirt to show a gun in his waistband. 0:25:13.960 --> 0:25:18.480 So Crystal's family says these types of incidents should have 0:25:18.560 --> 0:25:21.200 been a warning sign about what they describe as the 0:25:21.240 --> 0:25:24.680 specific risk Carlos could pose to women with whom he 0:25:24.680 --> 0:25:28.800 had been romantically involved. According to the lawsuit, the domestic 0:25:28.880 --> 0:25:32.120 violence investigation related to the woman at the bar was 0:25:32.200 --> 0:25:35.360 closed after a few months, and Carlos was not disciplined. 0:25:36.360 --> 0:25:40.240 These complaints and others all happened when Carlos was still 0:25:40.240 --> 0:25:44.240 a probationary officer, which meant, the lawsuit argus is that 0:25:44.640 --> 0:25:47.560 this would have been a period when the CPD could 0:25:47.600 --> 0:25:52.280 have more easily terminated Carlos's employment, but that didn't happen. 0:25:52.720 --> 0:25:55.680 Carlos stayed on the force and he was later promoted. 0:25:56.120 --> 0:25:59.320 In March of twenty twenty five, Carlos was a signed 0:25:59.360 --> 0:26:03.000 to the sixth District Tactical Team. This was a specialized 0:26:03.080 --> 0:26:06.920 unit and it's a highly sought after placement in that department. 0:26:07.840 --> 0:26:12.280 The family lawsuits claimed negligent retention and negligent supervision because 0:26:12.320 --> 0:26:15.840 they claimed these incidents meant the police department had chances 0:26:15.840 --> 0:26:20.400 to intervene here and didn't. In August of twenty twenty five, 0:26:20.560 --> 0:26:24.360 CBS News reported Carlos was quote stripped of his police 0:26:24.400 --> 0:26:28.680 powers after allegations he had attacked a female police officer 0:26:28.680 --> 0:26:31.240 who was off duty at a restaurant in wicker Park. 0:26:32.120 --> 0:26:35.320 The news channel also reported that following that incident, which 0:26:35.320 --> 0:26:38.080 by the way, was unrelated to Crystal Rivera or the shooting, 0:26:38.640 --> 0:26:43.000 that Carlos called some businesses around that bar, allegedly looking 0:26:43.000 --> 0:26:46.800 for surveillance footage that showed the incident. In the summer 0:26:46.840 --> 0:26:50.160 of twenty twenty five, Crystal's family held a press conference. 0:26:50.600 --> 0:26:54.440 They claimed they didn't believe this unintentional discharge story, saying 0:26:54.480 --> 0:26:57.280 that it quote does not yet pass the smell test 0:26:57.600 --> 0:27:01.760 end quote. Through his attorneys, Carlos has completely denied the 0:27:01.800 --> 0:27:05.240 claims made in the lawsuit and said that Krystal's family 0:27:05.320 --> 0:27:09.880 is creating their own false narrative. Carlos does have support. 0:27:10.320 --> 0:27:13.000 The president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge seven, 0:27:13.200 --> 0:27:17.680 also criticized Krystal's family narrative and said, in his opinion, 0:27:18.120 --> 0:27:21.840