A pin in memory of Officer Ella French at a memorial and prayer service for fallen Officer Ella French outside the 22nd District police station at 1900 W. Monterey Ave. in Morgan Park on Aug. 11.

Fallout of fatal shooting of Chicago police Officer Ella French

After she was killed Aug. 7 in a shooting that also wounded her partner, many are mourning and pushing to hold accountable those believed to be responsible.

By Matt Moore | August 12, 2021 at 12:27 PM

Chicago police Officer Ella French was killed and her partner seriously wounded in a shooting Aug. 7 in West Englewood.

The officers were shot during a traffic stop shortly after 9 p.m. at 63rd Street and Bell Avenue and returned fire, hitting and wounding at least one suspect, police said.

Both officers were taken to University of Chicago Medical Center, where French was pronounced dead, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

The other officer was “fighting for his very life” in critical condition, according to First Deputy Eric Carter.

Two brothers have been charged in the shooting, and a man believed to have acted as the so-called straw purchaser of the gun used in the incident also was charged.

The shooting has spotlighted a growing rift among the Chicago Police Department’s top brass, its officers and city officials.

Tributes have poured in from all over the city for French, as officers, firefighters and supporters have gathered to mourn at memorials, a vigil and her funeral.

31 Total Updates Since
August 08, 2021 01:39 AM

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August 11, 2021 09:35 PM

Hundreds attend prayer service for slain Officer Ella French and her wounded partner

By Madeline Kenney

“Officer Ella French is the best this city has to offer. She is truly Chicago’s finest,” Chaplain Kimberly Lewis-Davis said Wednesday evening.
August 11, 2021 09:27 PM

Judge orders release of man charged with straw purchase of gun allegedly used to kill Officer Ella French

By Jon Seidel and Madeline Kenney

Federal prosecutors Monday charged Jamel Danzy for allegedly acting as the so-called straw purchaser of the Glock semi-automatic pistol used to kill French.
August 11, 2021 07:47 PM

Family ‘hopeful and praying’ after wounded Chicago police officer’s surgery

By Fran Spielman and Madeline Kenney

A Chicago Police officer who was seriously wounded in a shooting during a traffic stop in West Englewood that killed his partner over the weekend underwent surgery Tuesday at the University of Chicago Medical Center.
August 11, 2021 06:29 PM

Cops once again shun a visit from Mayor Lightfoot

By Michael Sneed

This time, it was officers in the same unit as slain Chicago police Officer Ella French who were meeting at McCormick Place. They objected to a mayoral visit and complained to Supt. David Brown about a lack of support.
August 11, 2021 03:19 PM

Victim of botched Chicago police raid says Officer Ella French was the only one who showed her ‘dignity or respect’

By Stefano Esposito

Anjanette Young said she “joins the city of Chicago in mourning the loss.”
August 11, 2021 01:15 PM

Lightfoot defends first deputy for trying to speed up ritual at morgue for Officer Ella French

By Fran Spielman

‘A call was made under those circumstances to focus on the family. [First Deputy Supt.] Eric Carter made the right call. I support what he did,’ the mayor said.
August 11, 2021 07:38 AM

Mother of brothers charged in murder of Chicago police officer arrested after scuffle at hospital while trying to see son

By Sun-Times Wire

Evalena Flores, the mother of Emonte and Eric Morgan, was arrested at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.
August 10, 2021 07:02 PM

Grieving Chicago police officers direct their anger at CPD’s second-in-command

By Fran Spielman and Frank Main

First Deputy Supt. Eric Carter infuriated officers at the Cook County medical examiner’s office Saturday night who were giving Officer Ella French a final send-off. Carter declared, ‘We don’t have 20 minutes for this s---.’
August 10, 2021 06:47 PM

Brothers charged in fatal shooting of Chicago police officer denied bail

By Stefano Esposito

Emonte Morgan, 21, and his brother, Eric Morgan, 22, face a litany of felony charges in the Saturday shooting in West Englewood that killed French and left her partner fighting for his life at the University of Chicago Medical Center.
August 10, 2021 05:14 PM

Durbin: Murder of CPD Officer Ella French shows need to boost punishment of gun ‘straw purchasers’

By Lynn Sweet and Jon Seidel

In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Durbin wrote, “The straw purchase that led to Officer French’s death is a call to action for the Justice Department’s Strike Force.”