[ad_1]
“Officer French died serving our great city,” said Philip Cline, executive director of the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation. “A small portion of each of us died when we lost Ella, not just members of the police department, but everyone in Chicago.”
French, who had served more than three years in the department, and two other officers assigned to the department’s community security team were conducting a traffic check on a vehicle with three occupants around 9 p.m. Saturday when they received gunfire, the Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown. said Sunday at a press conference.
The officers fired back and two officers were shot in the exchange, Brown said. One of the attackers was also shot and taken to a local hospital, he said.
French, 29, died at the University of Chicago Medical Center, where her partner is in critical condition and “is fighting for her life,” Brown said.
“We didn’t lose just one great police officer; we lost a great person. A courageous and compassionate person who made a positive difference every day of their life,” said Cline.
French was not on the raid team, but responded to the scene as Young stood naked and handcuffed in her living room as police searched her residence. The French helped her dress in the privacy of her bedroom, the statement said.
“Officer French was the only one who showed Ms. Young any dignity or respect on the night of the raid,” the statement added.
Outrage in the case, progress for the officer
The other officer injured in the shooting is progressing gradually, according to Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
Yesterday afternoon “he’s making modest but positive progress,” Lightfoot said. “Considering what we feared on Saturday night, he is receiving great care, he is surrounded by a family who love him and pray for him, and many colleagues who are working to make him well, and he is making progress. progressive. “
Brothers Emonte and Eric Morgan were each denied bail in separate hearings for their alleged roles in French’s death and the other officer’s injury. Neither has been invited to enter a plea.
Prosecutors described a traffic stop that went wrong, saying one brother initially cooperated but fled the scene and the other shot the police.
According to state prosecutors, Eric Morgan fled the scene but returned, taking the gun and attempting to dispose of it. He was held by civilians until police could arrest him, a prosecutor said.
Separately, Jamel Danzy, 29, was charged with federal firearms violations after allegedly making a purchase of straw to obtain the semi-automatic handgun used to shoot French.
In a straw purchase, a person purchases a firearm and does not disclose their intention to resell it or give it to another person.
Danzy appeared in federal court on Wednesday and was released on $ 4,500 bail, according to an audio transmission of the hearing that was made available to media.
Brown said the judge’s decision to release the man accused of supplying the weapon was “a scandal”.
“When I learned this afternoon that a federal judge released the man who illegally purchased and then supplied the weapon used to assassinate Officer Ella French, I couldn’t believe it,” Brown said in a press release Wednesday evening.
“This move sets a dangerous precedent that straw buyers like Danzy are not a danger to society, despite the fact that his alleged actions directly led to the murder of a Chicago police officer and left another. in critical condition, ”Brown said.
CNN’s Omar Jimenez, Carma Hassan, Keith Allen and Jennifer Feldman contributed to this report.
[ad_2]
Source link