Mourners gather at funeral for CPD Officer Krystal Rivera, shot and killed in the line of duty

On the night of Chicago Police Officer Krystal Rivera’s death earlier this month, her then-10-year-old daughter Bella Medina looked Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling in the eye and asked him one question: “Was my mom a good police officer?”

“And I remember saying to her, ‘Your mom was an exemplary police officer,’ ” Snelling told hundreds of mourners at Rivera’s funeral service Wednesday. “She was magnificent because, what I’ve often said about being an exemplary police officer, you first have to be an exemplary human being.”

Snelling, Chicago Police Cmdr. Michael Tate and numerous family and friends described Rivera as a protector of many, both in and out of uniform, with a loud laugh and commitment to her family.

Rivera was unintentionally shot by a fellow officer during a foot pursuit in Chatham on 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. Authorities said Rivera was chasing Arnold when she was shot, and that Rucker pointed a rifle at officers during the incident.

Earlier that day, Rivera had hugged Bella extra tight and ate alcapurrias, a Puerto Rican street food, prepared by her grandmother.

Hundreds of officers, family and friends of Rivera gathered for the funeral at Living Word Christian Center in Forest Park Wednesday.

Rivera, 36, had been with the Chicago Police Department for four years and was assigned to the Gresham District. She had become a cop to help people, she told the Chicago Sun-Times in 2021. Rivera 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 said.

At Wednesday’s funeral, Rivera’s casket was draped in a Chicago flag and Snelling passed a folded flag to Bella.

“At those times, you think of your own family,” Snelling said to reporters after the service. “I look at her and I see a young girl who’s vibrant, who doesn’t have a mother anymore. To lose a mother, that was her everything.”

Friends and family spoke of Rivera’s humor, faith and commitment to her career and family. Some choked up, mourning the loss of a life cut short.

“It breaks my heart that we won’t be picking each other up from the retirement home like we planned,” longtime friend Dystany Martinez said. “But now I have you as my guardian angel, wherever life takes me.”

Others laughed as they remembered Rivera, as they said she would have wanted. Jen Topacio, a close friend, approached the podium clad in rhinestones and a cowboy hat, a nod to Rivera’s eye for fashion, love for horses and their mutual admiration of Beyoncé. Topacio told stories of Rivera lending her clothes and watching movies on Rivera’s beloved couch — “You needed to pass a dress code and a background check just to sit on that thing,” she said.

“She was a walking contradiction in the most beautiful way — bold enough to wear a badge, but let me tell you, too jumpy to sit through a horror movie,” Topacio said. “Fierce, one moment, a total softy the next.”

In Rivera, they saw not only a loving mother, sister and daughter, but a friend, a committed police officer and a protector. From the moment she was born, Rivera was special, her aunt Marisa Mercado said, speaking on behalf of the family.

“And I remember holding her in the hospital,” Mercado said. “Tiny, swaddled and resting in my arms. Even then, there was something about her.”

A slideshow set to Bette Midler’s “Wind Beneath my Wings” showed photos and videos of Rivera throughout her life: standing proud in a graduation cap, smiling with friends and making silly faces with her daughter.

During his remarks, Snelling pledged that the department will be there to support the Rivera family as they navigate grief.

“Chicago Police Department is always going to be here for you. We’re not going to leave your side,” Snelling said. “Bella, we’re going to watch you grow, go to college and fulfill your dreams. And when it happens, we’ll be there.”

Rivera’s motherly instincts stretched beyond her life with Bella, working their way into her day-to-day routine on the job, Tate, the Gresham District commander, said. In the Gresham District, she earned herself the nickname “Mama 2,” the second “mom” of the team after Sgt. Tammy Matthews, he said.

Speaking to reporters after the service, Mayor Brandon Johnson said the city is “in deep mourning” and applauded the officers in the police department. He said when an officer dies, it’s important to think of “the life that was lived well beyond just the badge.”

“Our hearts break but we are still very much inspired by their call to action and their call to duty,” Johnson said. “Again, this is an opportunity for us as a city to put our arms around one another.”

Hundreds attended a visitation for Rivera on Tuesday.

At the visitation, 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.”

Contributing: WBEZ reporter Anna Savchenko