CHICAGO – Chicago Police Officer Ella French was shot and killed in the line of duty during a traffic stop one year ago. Her courage and service will be remembered on Sunday, according to CBS News Chicago.
Emonte Morgan was arrested and charged with first-degree murder of a peace officer, two counts of attempted first-degree murder of a peace officer, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. His 22-year-old brother Eric Morgan was charged with unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and obstruction of justice, Law Officer previously reported.
Eric Morgan was driving the car that was pulled over for expired plates. He was on probation at the time of the shooting after pleading guilty to a reduced charge of theft after being involved in a 2018 robbery of four people in Wisconsin, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Police Officer Ella French
End of Watch: August 7, 2021We will #NeverForget the true bravery she exemplified as she laid her life down to protect others.
Please hold her family, loved ones and fellow Chicago Police officers in your thoughts as we grieve the loss of this hero. pic.twitter.com/kEUlNTv0Z4
— Chicago Police (@Chicago_Police) August 8, 2021
Officer French’s police star will be enshrined in the superintendent’s honored star case during a special ceremony. Gov. JB Pritzker will be at CPD headquarters to honor the fallen officer, CBS noted.
French’s partner, Officer Carlos Yanez Jr., was also critically wounded during the shooting. He suffered three gunshot wounds: One exited an eye, one lodged in the back of the head and one struck his shoulder, Law Officer reported.
According to CBS Chicago, one of the rounds lodged in Yanez’s brain.
Following the shooting, Yanez’s father — a retired CPD officer — targeted Mayor Lori Lightfoot for criticism regarding her ideas of police reform, which make officers vulnerable to violent criminals.
Carlos Yanez Sr. told the Chicago Sun-Times that he twice told the mayor’s office staff that his son was “not a fan of Lori Lightfoot, to put it mildly” and that the family did not want her at the hospital where he was taken the night of the shooting.
When the mayor arrived, a group of about 30 officers turned their backs to her, Law Officer reported.
Here is your police turning their backs on Lightfoot speaking at the hospital. Use at your leisure sir Alderman pic.twitter.com/GX2NzVEss6
— Irishlords (@Irishlords1) August 8, 2021
“I said that the actions by her administration and her rhetoric of saying how police need to be reconditioned or retrained or whatever was causing them to be in danger. That it was not allowing the officers to take the instinctive action necessary to protect themselves,” Yanez Sr. said.
“All the officers are told now that, if you draw your weapon and it’s not a situation that warrants it, unless you have guaranteed proof, there’ll be consequences,” he said.
“They didn’t do that when I was on the job. They let us be the police. There wasn’t a day that I didn’t draw my weapon, have it behind my leg or behind my thigh … It’s not about race. It’s about survival of the officer. But they don’t have that now. They don’t have that confidence that someone’s gonna back them up,” the father declared.
