All Krystal Rivera ever wanted was to be a police officer. <\/p>\n
Her dream came true in 2021 when she was sworn into the Chicago Police Department. But last week, Rivera was \u201cunintentionally\u201d shot<\/a> and killed by her partner when they encountered an armed person during a foot pursuit in Chatham.<\/p>\n Earlene Simons, who worked with Rivera for many years, recalled how determined she was to join the police department. <\/p>\n \u201cShe worked with me while she was going to school to be a police officer,\u201d said Simons, 70. \u201cThat was her dream and she succeeded. I was so proud of her.\u201d <\/p>\n Before joining the department, Rivera worked at a private medical office in Berwyn, but the job was always temporary \u2014 becoming a police officer was always Rivera\u2019s goal. \u201cEven on Halloween she would dress up as a police officer,\u201d said Simons. <\/p>\n Hundreds of family, friends and community members gathered at a prayer vigil outside the Gresham District police station, 7808 S. Halsted St., Wednesday afternoon in honor of Rivera and that dream.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, it\u2019s a privilege,\u201d Rivera told the Sun-Times when she graduated from the academy in 2021. \u201cI come from a family of serving. To help people in need, that\u2019s my calling.\u201d<\/p>\n Dozens of Chicago police officers \u2014 some in uniform, others in shirts bearing Rivera\u2019s image \u2014 stood together as CPD chaplain Rev. Kimberly Lewis-Davis urged them to lean on their faith for strength and healing.<\/p>\n Chicago police officers who were part of Krystal Rivera\u2019s team wear a shirt commemorating her during a prayer vigil Wednesday outside the Gresham police station at 7808 S. Halsted St. in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/p>\n Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere\/Sun-Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cWhen we look around this place, we see representation from various families,\u201d she said. \u201cThere is the Rivera family, the CPD family and our family in the community. There\u2019s a connection with family \u2014 when one grieves, we all grieve.\u201d<\/p>\n Rivera, who was assigned to the Gresham District tactical team, was shot about 9:50 p.m. last Thursday while chasing a person who officers thought was armed into an apartment building in the 8200 block of South Drexel Avenue, Chicago police said.<\/p>\n Prosecutors on Sunday said Rivera and her partner chased the person into a one-bedroom apartment where they encountered a suspect, Adrian A. Rucker<\/a>, 25, who was armed with an AR-style rifle, and another person.<\/p>\n Rucker, of Freeport, Illinois, pointed the weapon at the officers, which prosecutors say can be seen on the officers\u2019 body camera footage and surveillance video from inside the apartment.<\/p>\n A different \u201carmed suspect\u201d then jumped over a couch and ran out of the apartment, prosecutors said. Rivera chased him down the hallway, and that\u2019s when her partner unintentionally shot her in the back, they said.<\/p>\n Officers drove Rivera to University of Chicago Medical Center, but she died shortly after arriving. <\/p>\n After the shooting, Rucker ran off but was arrested about 20 minutes later in the 8200 block of South Maryland Avenue, according to police. He was charged with felony counts of armed violence and illegal possession of a gun, drugs and fake IDs. <\/p>\n Police Supt. Larry Snelling told reporters Saturday that the investigation is ongoing and the department is \u201calways\u201d reviewing its practices, including training and supervision, but it\u2019s too soon to tell if any policy changes will stem from the incident.<\/p>\n
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