CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The Cook County medical examiner's office has identified Ella French as the 29-year-old Chicago police officer who died after she and her partner were shot during a traffic stop Saturday night in West Englewood.
Police Supt. David Brown said French, who was assigned to the Community Safety Team, had been with the department since April 2018. French was the first female Chicago police officer to be killed in the line of duty in 21 years. She was from Galewood on the West Side.
The 39-year-old male officer who was shot and is still being treated has been with the Chicago Police Department since August 2014. His identity hasn't been released.
“Two young people doing what we ask: service over self, commitment and dedication,” Mayor Lori Lightfhoot said of the officers during a Sunday morning press conference.
The mayor declared an official day of mourning and ordered flags flown at half staff throughout the city both public and private buildings.
All three suspects — two males and one female who was apprehended early Sunday morning — are in custody and are being interviewed but haven’t been officially charged, Brown said.
“Preliminary, we believe that the passenger of the vehicle is the one who fired upon the officers,” Brown said, adding that same male is the one who was also wounded.
The superintendent didn’t say what prompted the traffic stop at 63rd Street and Bell Avenue but said the three officers at the scene were wearing body cameras, which the department has reviewed.
The two officers are among 38 who have been shot or shot at so far this year. Of that number, 11 were struck and French is the first to die in 2021.
“Our brothers and sisters in blue put this uniform on each and every day. They go to work risking everything to serve the people of Chicago. They come to work willing to run toward danger, toward gunfire, and they’re willing to sacrifice their lives to save the life of perfect strangers,” Brown said.
Lightfoot echoed Brown’s sentiments.
“They are human just as we are. Flawed just as we are but also risking their lives every day for our safety and security. That reality became very real last night in an emergency room amongst tears and fears from the finest and most courageous people I know,” Lightfoot said.
The mayor asked Chicagoans to "say thank you" when they see a Chicago police officer and that “every block, every neighborhood” unite and help combat the gun violence ravaging the city.
The officers also are among at least 45 people who have been shot, including four fatally, since 7 p.m. Saturday across Chicago.
So far this month, 155 people have been shot, 23 fatally, in gun violence across the city, according to Chicago Sun-Times data.
Related
