Crime & Law

‘A Hero to Everyone Here’: Friends, Family Mourn Fallen Chicago Police Officer Krystal Rivera

When Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling broke the news to the family of Officer Krystal Rivera that she had been fatally shot, he recalled her young daughter Isabella asking him one question: “Was my mom a good officer?”

“I remember saying to her, ‘Your mom was an exemplary police officer,’” he said. “She was magnificent.”

Hundreds of family, friends and fellow police gathered Wednesday afternoon at the Living Word Christian Center in Forest Park to mourn the fallen officer.

Rivera, a 36-year-old mother and four-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department, was unintentionally shot by her partner during a foot pursuit in Chatham on June 5.

“She was, she is and she always will be a hero to everyone here,” Snelling said. “Her name will not be forgotten. She gave everything to help other people.”

Rivera was the youngest of three sisters raised in Humboldt Park, and though she was the “baby” of the family, she was “fiercely protective” of everyone she loved, particularly of her young daughter Isabella, according to CPD Chaplain Kimberly Lewis-Davis.

Family and friends remembered Rivera as “joyful and fearless” with a contagious smile and laugh, her friend said. She was “bold” enough to wear a badge, but couldn’t make it through watching a horror movie.

She had dreamed throughout her life of becoming an officer and had begun working to become a forensic investigator, according to her fellow officers. Not only was she an actual mother, but she was known as “mama” among her fellow 6th District officers.

“From early on it was clear — serving and protecting were inherently part of her DNA,” her aunt Marisa Mercado said Wednesday.

Two men — 27-year-old Jaylin Arnold and 25-year-old Adrian Rucker — have since been arrested and charged in connection with the incident.

According to Cook County prosecutors, Rivera and her partner observed Arnold walking with “an unusually large bulge” under his jacket allegedly consistent with a drum magazine. When he looked at the officers, Rivera took off running, followed by police, prosecutors said.

Arnold fled into a nearby apartment building, where he was buzzed in by Rucker. The officers made it inside seconds later, where Rivera’s partner allegedly saw Rucker standing behind a couch pointing a firearm at him.

Prosecutors said Rivera’s partner then “accidentally discharged” his firearm, striking and killing Rivera. No other shots were fired during the encounter.

Arnold now faces charges of armed violence, possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of a controlled substance. Rucker was similarly charged with armed violence and possession of a controlled substance, as well as counts of having an invalid FOID card and a fraudulent ID card.

Both men have been ordered to be held in custody pending trial.

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