Mourners to gather at funeral for CPD Officer Krystal Rivera, shot and killed in the line of duty
Chicago police officer Krystal Rivera will be laid to rest Wednesday after she was shot and killed in the line of duty June 5.
Hundreds are expected to gather at the funeral at Living Word Christian Center in Forest Park.
Rivera was unintentionally fatally shot by a fellow officer after a foot pursuit in Chatham June 5. Two people have been charged in connection with her death. Jaylin Arnold, 27, was charged with felony counts of armed violence, possession of a controlled substance and possession of a gun as a repeat felon. Adrian A. Rucker, 25, faces felony counts of armed violence and illegal possession of a gun, drugs and a fake IDs.
Rivera, 36, had been with the Chicago Police Department for four years. She was assigned to the 6th District and had become a cop to help people, she told the Chicago Sun-Times in 2021. She was a single mother, and a lover of fashion and animals, her family told the Sun-Times after her death.
“If you want to think of a good person, a great person, as an example you’ll think of her,” her daughter Bella Medina said.
Hundreds, including officers from Chicago and the suburbs, Mayor Brandon Johnson and Chicago police Supt. Larry Snelling, attended a visitation for Rivera Tuesday.
At the visitation, Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara and Bella’s teacher Ariana Vilcins applauded Rivera’s dedication to her daughter.
“Krystal was 100% devoted to her child and wanted her daughter to have the best education, the best life and the most love that she could possibly have,” Vilcins said. “Bella is a cheerful, loving little girl, and it’s a result of the way she brought up her daughter.”
