Carlos Baker, a Chicago police officer who was involved in the fatal shooting of his partner, Krystal Rivera, during a foot pursuit earlier this year, is now facing new allegations of assault.
Reports indicate that Baker allegedly attacked a female officer at DSTRKT Bar & Grill in Wicker Park late Sunday night.
The injured officer, who is 29 years old, filed a police report after sustaining injuries, including a split lip, during the altercation.
According to sources, the incident occurred in the bar’s vestibule when Baker and an unidentified woman pressured the officer to delete videos from her cellphone.
A dispute erupted over the content of the videos, leading to an alleged physical confrontation in which Baker and the woman struck the officer in the face.
With assistance from others at the scene, the injured officer managed to escape and was taken to Rush University Medical Center, where she received treatment for her injuries, including two stitches for her swollen upper lip.
An evidence technician later documented her injuries at her home, highlighting the seriousness of the attack.
Notably, the injured officer stated that she was not at the bar with Baker or the woman he was with and did not disclose her status as a police officer during the encounter.
The nature of the videos that initiated the confrontation remains unclear, as there has been no disclosure regarding their content.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) has confirmed that it is investigating the alleged attack involving Baker.
As of now, no arrests have been made in connection with the incident.
Baker’s involvement in a fatal shooting prior to this incident has drawn significant scrutiny. On June 5, during a foot chase into a Chatham apartment filled with illegal firearms and drugs, Baker fatally shot Rivera, his partner.
The circumstances surrounding Rivera’s death have been described by officials and Baker’s legal representatives as an accident. However, Rivera’s family is adamantly requesting an independent investigation along with the release of body camera footage from the night of the shooting.
A prior investigation by the Sun-Times and Illinois Answers Project uncovered Rivera’s pivotal role in a case involving a stolen Glock handgun that had been returned to the police during a buyback event in December 2023 but subsequently disappeared from a police facility.
Rivera reported to internal affairs that she attempted to locate the missing weapon among her colleagues’ belongings after realizing it was gone.
The stolen gun was later found in connection with several shootings and was ultimately recovered from a teenage suspect.
Antonio Romanucci, the attorney representing Rivera’s family, emphasized the family’s need for answers during a news conference last month, expressing skepticism about the narrative that Rivera was killed accidentally by her partner while they pursued suspects who had not fired any shots.
Baker’s career in law enforcement has been marred by numerous disciplinary issues since its beginning. He has been the subject of more than a dozen allegations of misconduct since he joined the police department in December 2021.
These complaints include a prior incident in late 2022, where a woman accused Baker, then a probationary officer, of using social media to track her down at a bar and displaying his firearm during an encounter.
This investigation was handled by a specialized COPA unit addressing sexual misconduct, but the case was never escalated to a criminal investigation, as the probe was closed after the investigator was unable to contact the victim.
Critics are questioning why Baker retained his position within the department, especially considering the serious nature of the complaints he faced during his probationary period, which might have warranted termination.
The Chicago Police Department has not provided clarification on this issue nor about Baker’s conduct surrounding Rivera’s shooting incident.
Meanwhile, the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge and Rivera’s family spokesperson have not issued statements regarding either incident.
Efforts to reach Baker for a comment were unsuccessful as of the time of reporting.
Following Rivera’s tragic death, the Cook County state’s attorney’s office secured a court order that prevents the release of records linked to the internal investigation and related criminal cases tied to the suspects Baker and Rivera were chasing during the shooting incident.
This order obstructed the typical disclosures, such as videos and documents that would generally be accessible after 60 days post-incident. As of now, COPA has asserted that it has not pursued such orders to withhold records.
In response to the lack of transparency, the Better Government Association has filed a motion in Cook County Circuit Court aimed at lifting the secrecy order that currently restricts access to records associated with Baker, Rivera, and the circumstances surrounding her death.
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