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Two Chicago brothers were charged with felony Monday after a traffic stop on Saturday night in West Englewood ended in tragedy, with Chicago policewoman Ella French being shot and her partner seriously injured.
Emonte Morgan, 21, has been charged with first degree murder, two counts of attempted murder of a peace officer and other charges, police and prosecutors have said. Her brother, Eric Morgan, 22, has been charged with aggravated illegal use of a weapon and illegal use of a weapon by a criminal as well as one count of obstructing justice. They were scheduled to appear for bail hearings in Cook County court on Tuesday.
French, 29, an officer since April 2018, was the first Chicago cop to be shot in the line of duty since Mayor Lori Lightfoot took office in 2019, and the first since Police Superintendent David Brown began leading the city’s police force last year. . His murder rocked a city already struggling with violence this summer.
The brothers have little serious criminal history, although they are both on probation on separate matters 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.
Separately, federal prosecutors indicted Jamel Danzy, a man from Indiana who allegedly told investigators he was in a relationship with one of the brothers, with having bought out of straw the weapon that was ultimately used to kill. French. Danzy handed it over to one of the brothers shortly after buying it under false pretenses, according to a criminal complaint.
French’s partner, a Chicago police officer since August 2014, remained hospitalized at the University of Chicago Medical Center on Monday after being shot in the head. He was first taken to hospital in serious to critical condition.
Speaking at a press conference Monday where the charges were announced, Police Superintendent David Brown said the injured officer “is gradually improving from the tragic events of Saturday night.”
“I think the people of Chicago should… pray, not only for the recovery of our officer who is fighting for his life” but also for the other officers on the streets doing the job, Brown said, lamenting what he was doing. called for weak support for the police from the public and members of the media, who often focus on police reform issues and not acts of heroism.
“It’s high time to stop this, you know, the unbalanced treatment of the police here in Chicago and all over this country,” Brown said. “We are imperfect. Much like the media gallery is imperfect. Like all professions in our country are imperfect.
“But they come down dark alleys, neither of you would come down to protect you.”
He said the suspects’ vehicle was blocked due to “expired plates”, but investigators have yet to establish the motive for the shooting. Brown also said the woman who was with the Morgan brothers had not been charged with anything as there was no evidence against her.
Saturday’s shooting happened just after 9 p.m. near West 63rd Street and South Bell Avenue when officers conducted a roadside check of an SUV, authorities said.
Investigators used body-worn camera footage to piece together the sequence of events leading up to the shooting, sources said.
The footage shows that the three occupants were or were about to get out of the vehicle when Eric Morgan fled, leading an officer to chase and apprehend him nearby, the sources said.
The second suspect, Emonte Morgan, pulled away from the Frenchman and backed up inside the vehicle. As officers attempted to apprehend him, he allegedly fired a gun, hitting both officers, sources said.
Emonte Morgan was then injured when he was shot by the officer who initially pursued his brother.
Brown also provided a brief account of the confrontation that led to the shooting at the press conference, also describing a fight between Emonte Morgan and the officers.
“The fight went from the trunk of the car to near the interior of the car, not necessarily all the way inside,” Brown said. “And the gunshots rang out from … the front passenger seat of the car, where he was originally seated.”
Brown’s behavior turned to frustration, however, when asked about the dangers of sending young officers by “reverse seniority” into high crime neighborhoods. The Frenchman was 29 years old with only three years of work, for example.
“These two offenders killed Ella French, then tried to kill the (second and third) officers there,” Brown said sternly. “He’s the only person we’re pointing at today. One person did this. Do not reverse seniority. No other reason that this person killed her and tried to kill other officers.
“And I wouldn’t like to point fingers,” he continued, “at anyone or anything else.”
Over the weekend, Brown said a total of 38 Chicago police officers had been shot or gunned down so far in 2021, 11 of whom had been hit by gunfire. The 11 includes French and his partner. For all of 2020, 79 Chicago cops have been shot or gunned down.
Officers were taken to University of California Medical Center while injured Brother Morgan was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. He and another male suspect were arrested, while a 21-year-old woman was taken into custody hours later, police officials said.
French and his partner were members of the Community Safety Team, a city-wide unit formed last summer under Brown to respond to crime hot spots.
Before Saturday night, the last on-duty deaths of Chicago police officers who were killed while pursuing a suspect occurred in December 2018, when Constables Eduardo Marmolejo and Conrad Gary were fatally struck by a train as they searched for an illegally wanted man. own a gun. That suspect, Edward Brown, was sentenced earlier this year to one year in prison for a weapon violation offense in the case.
The last Chicago female cop to be shot in the line of duty was Irma Ruiz, who died in September 1988 when she was shot dead at an elementary school on the Near West Side.
In the French shooting, records showed Danzy purchased the gun in March from an authorized dealer in Hammond, where he claimed to purchase the gun for himself, according to the federal complaint filed on Monday.
On Sunday, ATF agents found Danzy at the restaurant where he works and he agreed to be interviewed on tape in an agent’s car in the parking lot.
Officers showed him the dealer’s papers, and at first he claimed to have bought the gun for himself, the complaint says. But “after further questioning,” he admitted that he instead bought it for someone in Chicago, Individual A, who had a criminal record and couldn’t afford a gun.
Also on Monday, Lightfoot’s office addressed the controversy that emerged from his visit to the hospital where police were taken on Saturday night, where a group of police apparently turned their backs on him.
A source familiar with the incident said Lightfoot was also reprimanded by the father of the officer who was seriously injured in the shooting. Lightfoot stood up and listened in response, according to the source.
Afterward, Lightfoot attempted to approach a few dozen officers who walked away from her and kept their backs turned, the source said. The mayor then walked away, according to the source.
Lightfoot’s office on Monday released a statement regarding the incident at the hospital saying she was present in the emergency department “to offer support and condolences to the families involved and to the hundreds of line and line officers. exempt who were there, which she did “.
“In a time of tragedy, emotions run high and that’s to be expected,” the statement said. “The mayor spoke to a range of officers that tragic night and felt the overwhelming feeling was concern for their fallen colleagues.”
The mayor’s office also said it was “time for us to come together as a city”.
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