Four days after the fatal on-duty shooting of Chicago police Officer Ella French and the wounding of her partner, shock waves of sorrow and anger were being felt from city neighborhoods to the mayor’s office.
Praise for French’s police work poured in from city authorities and everyday citizens alike. Mayor Lori Lightfoot faced escalating questions about her fractious relationship with some rank-and-file cops.
And one Chicago family could be caught up in the justice system for years for their alleged roles in the lead-up to the shooting, the shooting itself and its aftermath.
Two brothers, one of whom is charged with French’s murder, are being held without bond, and their mother was arrested Tuesday in a Chicago suburb after an anguished scene in which she allegedly kicked a hospital officer while demanding to see her wounded son.
A friend of the brothers had a federal court appearance Wednesday, accused of supplying the murder weapon. He was ordered released pending trial on charges he was a straw purchaser of the .22-caliber pistol fired from an SUV the officers had stopped in West Englewood.
French’s partner remained hospitalized as police officers held prayer vigils and waited for details on funeral services being planned for French in the coming days.
‘Didn’t have a chance to thank her’
In the frantic, terrifying moments after Taisha Banks’ 1-month-old daughter was shot in the head last month, Ella French was a calming presence, Banks’ family said.
Seven people had just been shot in Englewood, including the infant. French responded to the scene and rode with Banks and the baby as they rushed to the hospital, said Banks’ brother Charles McKenzie.
French helped console Banks and encouraged her to stay positive, McKenzie said.
“My sister didn’t have a chance to thank her,” he said.
McKenzie, who founded the community group Englewood First Responders, said he had met French twice at community events before learning she helped his sister. In those meetings, he spoke with French about the need for communities to come together to create change, and he said she encouraged him to continue his community organizing work.
“She really cared about her community; that’s why I’m glad to say I actually saw her hands-on,” he said. “She was really kindhearted. She had a great spirit.”
The events McKenzie organizes in Englewood often involve police as he strives to build trust between local residents and officers, he said.
“Just being open-minded and having a good heart like the young lady that was killed during this weekend,” he said. “If we had more officers like her, the community would be a lot better.”
In a statement Wednesday, Cardinal Blase Cupich pointed to French’s actions the night of the Englewood mass shooting as evidence of her commitment to social justice, and called on elected officials to enact gun reform laws during a “season of senselessness.”
“But we can never allow ourselves to become numb in the face of injustice, no matter how crushingly common it seems,” he wrote. “We shudder when we hear of the child hit by gunfire, but do we remember her name? We mourn the slain police officer, but do we see beyond the uniform? … We pick sides, even neighborhoods, rally with the likeminded, close ourselves to conversation with those who might disagree, derive meaning from the conflict, and gather ourselves into silos of politics, culture and even religion.”
Also Wednesday, the law office representing Anjanette Young, a Chicago woman who is suing the city after she was handcuffed naked in her home after Chicago police officers raided the wrong residence in 2019, sent out a statement that Young, too, is mourning the loss of French.
French was among the officers named in Young’s lawsuit, but after the officer’s death, Young’s attorneys praised her actions. French was called to Young’s home after the raid and allowed Young to get dressed in the privacy of her bedroom, the statement said.
“Officer French was the only officer who showed Ms. Young any dignity or respect on the night of the raid,” the statement said. “Ms. Young is praying for Officer French’s family and offers her sincerest condolences to them and all of Officer French’s friends and colleagues.”
‘My boys are not monsters’
Two Chicago brothers have been held without bond for their alleged roles in the fatal encounter.
On Saturday night, French and her partner had their service weapons holstered when Emonte Morgan, 21, allegedly shot them both at close range during a struggle after the traffic stop. He is accused of then exchanging fire with a third officer before running and giving the weapon to his brother Eric, 22.
Emonte eventually collapsed with two gunshot wounds, Cook County prosecutors said Tuesday. He was taken to a hospital in Oak Lawn. He faces charges including first-degree murder and attempted murder.
Eric Morgan faces weapons charges as well as a count of obstruction of justice.
French died of a single gunshot wound to the head. Her wounded partner was still in critical condition this week, with a bullet lodged in his brain as well as gunshot wounds to the eye and shoulder, prosecutors said.
Tuesday morning, Emonte Morgan was still hospitalized and under guard at Advocate Christ Medical Center when his mother, Evalena Flores, allegedly tried to enter his hospital room in a confrontation she apparently recorded on cellphone video and posted on social media.
Two Chicago police officers outside Morgan’s room and one of the hospital’s public safety officers stopped her, but she allegedly kicked the hospital officer in the groin, according to authorities.
Flores continued to resist while demanding to see her son, police said.
Flores was arrested and charged with misdemeanor offenses that include battery, resisting a peace officer and criminal trespassing, police said. Flores is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 15 at the Cook County courthouse in suburban Bridgeview.
A Facebook Live video posted about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday shows a woman filming her perspective of entering what appears to be a hospital. Oak Lawn Police Division Chief Gerald Vetter confirmed that the video “is of interest to our investigation.”
“I’m trying to see my son,” the woman can be heard saying in the video. “Emonte Morgan. My son. I want to see my son.”
“Monte! Monte!” she screams as she appears to rush down a hallway. As uniformed officers approach her, she can be heard yelling, “Don’t touch me! Get away from me! … Please let me see my son!”
Someone else is then heard saying, “Put your hands behind you. You’re under arrest.”
“Monte, I love you!” the woman can be heard crying out as she appears to be ushered away.
In another video made under the same Facebook account, a woman who identifies herself as the mother of the Morgan brothers says, “There is another side and my boys’ side is not being told right now. I cannot speak too much on it, but I will say this: Don’t believe everything you hear and see. It’s fictitious. And there is another side. My boys are not monsters.”
The woman continues and says that she does not believe the Chicago police narrative of the shooting and that her sons were probably afraid to be pulled over by police because they’re young Black men.
“We fear our police here, unfortunately,” she said. “We fear them. We don’t believe in them. We don’t trust them. They get behind us, our hearts drop, we scared. That’s just the reality of it.”
A friend of the Morgan brothers, Jamel Danzy, was also taken into custody this week for allegedly supplying the gun that killed French. Danzy was ordered released by a federal judge Wednesday pending trial on charges of conspiring to violate firearms laws.
At a brief hearing conducted by telephone, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Gilbert noted Danzy’s steady employment history and lack of criminal background.
As part of the terms of Danzy’s release, he cannot have contact with the man for whom he allegedly straw-purchased the gun. Danzy allegedly told investigators he was in a relationship with that man, who is referred to in court documents as “Individual A” but is known to be Eric Morgan.
A Glock semi-automatic pistol was recovered from the yard near where Eric Morgan was arrested, Cook County prosecutors said, which matches federal prosecutors’ allegations that “Individual A” was arrested with the gun after French’s shooting.
Mayor reacts
Mayor Lori Lightfoot again praised French on Wednesday during a news conference about the city budget, calling her “an incredible person” who was extraordinarily hardworking, committed and dedicated to service over self.
“Her mother said that she loved the job,” Lightfoot said.
Lightfoot criticized the media for reporting on an incident where a group of officers turned their back on her while she visited the hospital where the two officers were taken after they were shot.
Asked about the incident at the University of Chicago Medical Center, Lightfoot said feelings there ranged from despair to anger and rage, which is to be expected. But Lightfoot did not specifically address the question.
Asked generally if officers should ever turn their back on the mayor of Chicago, Lightfoot lamented the state of civic discourse in America and said it’s “a larger question than what may have happened with 10 or 15 officers.”
“It’s, why do we think it is OK for people to engage in such nasty, vicious talk orally or worse on social media?” Lightfoot said.
Tribune reporter Gregory Pratt contributed.
