Calling the attorneys representing the household of slain Chicago Police Officer Krystal Rivera “decrease than whale sh**,” the top of town’s largest police union has unleashed a blistering assault on the family’ wrongful demise lawsuit that means one other cop could have deliberately killed the officer on responsibility and left her to die.
“That is as little as it will get,” Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara mentioned in a YouTube video, directing his anger on the legislation agency Romanucci & Blandin after it sued Rivera’s companion, Officer Carlos Baker, and town over Rivera’s demise on June 5.
“The bottom spot on this planet is supposedly the Marianas Trench, the place I’m positive there’s an entire bunch of whale sh**,” Catanzara mentioned. “Effectively, I can inform you, Mr. Romanucci is under that pile of whale sh** that far down. That’s how low he stooped … along with his false accusations, his lies, his innuendos, his slander of an officer.”
CPD has mentioned Rivera and Baker have been chasing a person suspected of getting a gun after they entered an condo and got here face-to-face with one other man who had a firearm. As Rivera continued pursuing the preliminary suspect, Baker fired a shot that struck Rivera in a portion of her torso not lined by her ballistic vest.
Catanzara mentioned the lawsuit, which claims Baker didn’t render help, is constructed on “lies” and “innuendo,” and he mentioned the attorneys are exploiting a tragedy for consideration.
“A pathetic legislation agency looking for relevance and keen to make use of anyone’s ache and struggling for their very own private achieve and feather of their cap,” Catanzara mentioned, including that whereas he wouldn’t criticize Rivera’s household, “disgrace on the attorneys.”
The lawsuit claims Baker and Rivera had an on-again, off-again private relationship that ended after Rivera discovered Baker had a live-in girlfriend. Based on the submitting, Rivera had threatened to inform the opposite girl about Baker’s infidelity shortly earlier than she was shot as soon as within the again.
The swimsuit additionally alleges Baker ran in the wrong way after capturing Rivera after which didn’t name for assist or inform a dispatcher that he was the shooter.
Catanzara flatly rejected these allegations, saying any private relationship “had nothing to do with the capturing.”
“The capturing was an accident, unintentional and even unknown to Baker for a number of hours,” Catanzara mentioned. He claimed Baker didn’t notice he could have fired the deadly shot till his weapon was “downloaded” as a part of post-shooting protocol.
“The accusation that he didn’t render help and let her die might be essentially the most egregious and disgusting accusation of all of them,” Catanzara mentioned. “And, even the household has seen the bodycam.”
Catanzara mentioned he desires town to launch the body-worn digital camera video “sooner reasonably than later” to counter what he described as false narratives surrounding the incident.
He then described, intimately, what he mentioned the footage exhibits.
“Carlos goes by the door concurrently because it’s closing and is confronted with anyone pointing a rifle proper at him,” Catanzara mentioned. “He concurrently turns to get out of the best way, and his ft get snarled, which causes an unintentional discharge of the weapon that he didn’t even notice that he had carried out. That’s the bullet that struck Krystal.”
Catanzara mentioned Baker was turning to hunt cowl from the doorway and didn’t know the rifle pointed at him was unloaded.
“When the spherical goes off, and also you hear a gunshot, he instantly retreated up the staircase to the second ground for canopy, not figuring out that Krystal was struck,” Catanzara claimed. “He stored calling Krystal repeatedly and wasn’t getting a solution whereas he was wanting into the condo to see the place the offender with the rifle was at, making an attempt to clear the condo.”
Based on Catanzara, Baker solely realized Rivera had been hit after wanting over a railing.
“He, at one level, appears over the railing and realizes Krystal is laying there dying,” Catanzara mentioned. “He then makes his manner down the steps across the staircase after which grabs Krystal along with his again to the open door, nonetheless not figuring out if the offenders are in that condo, subjecting himself to being shot within the again as he dragged Krystal down the steps to the responding models.”
Catanzara mentioned different officers then took Rivera to the hospital at Baker’s path whereas Baker returned to clear the condo.
“His tactical responses… have been as spot on as anyone on this division. That’s only a God’s sincere truth,” mentioned the union chief. “And for these of you who assume there’s a cover-up, disgrace the hell on you.”
“There may be not all the time somebody guilty for one thing that occurs,” Catanzara said.
Towards the top of his assertion, Catanzara addressed Rivera’s household immediately.
“And to the household, I do know these aren’t most likely phrases you wish to hear,” he mentioned. “However we’ll defend Carlos and his actions that night time as a result of he didn’t do something intentional or flawed. It’s tragic that Krystal misplaced her life and that’s precisely what it’s.”
