With the Ashburn neighborhood draped in blue, Chicago police Officer Ella French is expected to be laid to rest Thursday morning with stories about her well-documented compassion and desire to protect others.
Thousands of officers, representing departments across the country, lined up outside the St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel before the service in a queue that stretched for blocks. Mayor Lori Lightfoot arrived about 30 minutes before the funeral Mass, as did Chicago U.S. Attorney John Lausch.
Chicago police Officer Ella French. (Chicago Police Department)
French, 29, and her partner were shot while conducting a traffic stop on three people in a vehicle just after 9 p.m. Aug. 7 in the Englewood neighborhood, police said. Her partner was seriously injured and remains hospitalized.
One of the suspects was also shot after at least one of the officers returned fire, according to police.
Hundreds attended French’s wake Wednesday evening at the Southwest Side chapel, where the electronic sign on the church lawn rotated with a message proclaiming “thank you for your service” and a picture of the slain officer.
Prosecutors have charged two brothers in connection with the shooting. Emonte Morgan, 21, is accused of first-degree murder, attempted murder, and weapons charges. Eric Morgan, 22, faces weapons charges as well as a count of obstruction of justice.
Authorities allege that Emonte Morgan shot the officers, then handed the gun to his brother, who ran to a nearby yard where he was held by residents until police arrived.
Both brothers were on probation for separate cases at the time of the shooting. Emonte Morgan pleaded guilty to robbery in Cook County court last year, and Eric Morgan pleaded guilty to theft in Dane County, Wisconsin, records show.
A police officer walks with two girls wearing Chicago Police Department crown caps before the funeral of Officer Ella French at St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel on Aug. 19, 2021. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Cicero police Officer Eduardo Diaz adjusts the badge of fellow Officer Didier Cervantes, adorned with the badge number of Chicago police Officer Ella French, before funeral services at St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
French’s partner, Officer Carlos Yanez Jr., was shot in the eye, brain and shoulder, according to a GoFundMe fundraiser organized by family. He is facing a long recovery and the possibility of a lifelong disability. The Tribune confirmed the veracity of the fundraiser with a spokesperson for the company.
In a video provided to the Tribune Wednesday by his sister, Yanez thanked people for their support, prayers and donations. He spoke softly in the video while laying in a hospital bed.
“I love you all,” he told supporters.
Praise for French’s police work has poured in from the community since her death, while the slaying ramped up tension between Lightfoot and rank-and-file police officers. In a widely reported incident, a group of officers turned their backs on Lightfoot when she visited the hospital on the night of the shooting.
Those animosities were reflected in an angry prayer offered by a Chicago Police chaplain at Edison Park Fest over the weekend. As a line of uniformed Chicago police officers stood in front of the stage, the Rev. Dan Brandt, a Catholic priest, cursed unnamed elected officials and blamed them for the death of French and others, according to a video later posted on Facebook.
“Their lives were stolen by repeat offenders, people who should not be on the street,” Brandt said. “And damn our politicians. And damn our penalty system, our penal system. We need reform, friends.”
Brandt seemingly excluded Ald. Anthony Napolitano, 41st, a frequent and prolific Lightfoot critic, from his condemnation as he thanked God for the Northwest Side neighborhood’s “great alderman.” He also referred to Edison Park — which is overwhelmingly white and home to more than 1,000 police officers — as “almost like a Utopian neighborhood.”
The chaplain is expected to participate in the funeral Mass, along with Cardinal Blase Cupich of the Chicago Archdiocese. Although Police Supt. David Brown and Lightfoot are in attendance, there’s no indication in the funeral program that either will be delivering remarks.
French, who became an officer in 2018, is the first officer to be shot and killed in the line of duty during Lightfoot’s tenure.
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