07/01/2025
Chicago cop who shot and killed his partner has a lengthy disciplinary record in a short career
A young Chicago cop had racked up more than a dozen misconduct complaints by the time authorities say he inadvertently shot and killed his partner, Krystal Rivera, when they confronted two armed men inside an apartment filled with guns and drugs.
Since joining the Chicago Police Department in December 2021, Officer Carlos A. Baker has faced three suspensions and two reprimands, records show, one stemming from a complaint that he failed to arrest a home invader on his first shift working the street.
It was among five complaints he accrued as a probationary officer, when the department could have summarily fired him because he had few union protections.
During his probationary period, Baker also was accused of flashing a gun at a woman he’d met online while she was on a date with another man at a North Side bar. The woman later refused to cooperate with investigators, and Baker faced no discipline, records show.
Baker’s record of complaints is unusual among Chicago police officers. Only 5% of Chicago police had six or more misconduct complaints from 2018 through 2023, according to data collected by the Invisible Institute.
Despite his work history, Baker was moved to the Gresham District tactical team, a group of officers who aggressively work to get guns and drugs off the streets and investigate crime patterns in Gresham, Chatham and other nearby South Side neighborhoods.