SEPT 2021 Blues Vol 37 No. 9

Ella French funeral: Chicago pays respect to officer
killed in line of duty.
CHICAGO - As tradition dictates,
bagpipes were playing as
a casket containing the body of
29-year-old Chicago Police Officer
Ella French was carried by
her fellow officers Thursday.
Hundreds of squad cars from
Chicago, the suburbs, and all
over the country lined up on
Western Avenue to take part in
the procession.
A sea of officers in their dress
blue uniforms formed outside St.
Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel as
mourners — including Mayor Lori
Lightfoot, former Mayor Richard
M. Daley, and top department
officials and friends and family
— filed slowly inside to remember
French.
Cardinal Blase Cupich led
the traditional Catholic funeral
mass, and spoke in his homily
about the difficulty of policing —
urging officers not to get discouraged
by anti-police sentiment
in the country.
Officer French’s mother and Officer
Joshua Blas, French’s third
partner that night who tried to
save her life, spoke as well.
“Ella was so proud to be a
member of your family,” said
Elizabeth French. “Every day you
leave home to serve and protect.”
Mother of Officer Ella French
reflects on her daughter in a
stirring eulogy.
“She was loud and fun and
outgoing,” said Blas. “She always
loved getting
to know the
people and talking
to them. She was
bubbly and always
smiling…Ella,
you’re a great police
officer, friend
and partner. Thank
you for all the great
memories. I miss
you.”
French was
gunned down
during an August
7th traffic stop in
West Englewood.
She served for
three years on the
police force.
As tradition dictates, bagpipes
were playing as a casket containing
the body of 29-yearold
Chicago Police Officer Ella
French was carried by her fellow
officers Thursday.
French’s brother, Adam, said
she “wanted to do good for the
world.”
“… My sister is a badass—. She
always wanted to make a difference
however it was possible. I
was never surprised when she
said she was going to be a sheriff
and then a cop. It just made
sense,” Andrew wrote in a message
to the Sun-Times.
French’s partner, Carlos Yanez
Jr., was also shot and critically
wounded during the traffic stop
gone wrong. He released a video
from his hospital room Wednesday.
The shooting sent shockwaves
across Chicago.
Police Superintendent David
Brown delivered impassioned
words of support for the police
force.
“They go down dark alleys
none of you would go down, to
protect you,” Brown said. “They
run toward bullets.”
Yanez’s father, a former Chicago
cop, also spoke during the
funeral and said his son only
learned of French’s death two
days ago.
“He sank into such sorrow,”
said Carlos Yanez Sr. “And if you
know my son, he’s the happiest
Draped with a city of Chicago flag, the body of Chicago Police Officer Ella French is carried
into the St Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel for the funeral service on August 19, 2021
guy in the world all the time. But
I’ve never seen him so sad and in
pain.”
Two brothers have been
charged in the shooting. A third
man accused of acting as a
straw purchaser to buy the gun
that was used to kill French faces
federal gun charges.
Prosecutors say the brothers’
car was pulled over for expired
plates. They say three officers
approached the car and the situation
exploded after the younger
brother — accused shooter Monte
Morgan — refused to cooperate
and became unruly.
“Monte Morgan exited that
vehicle with a drink in one hand
and a cell phone in the other. He
refused repeated instructions to
set those items down,” said Risa
Lanier, Interim First Assistant
State’s Attorney. “He began physically
jerking his arms away from
those officers.”
Moments later, Lanier says
Morgan pulled a .22 caliber
handgun from his waistband and
fired several shots, hitting and
killing French with a single shot
to the head, and hitting Yanez in
the shoulder and the right eye.
Outside court, prosecutors said
the initial responding officers
“had their own guns holstered
the entire time” of the incident.
Monte Morgan was later shot and
wounded by a second group of officers
who were called for backup.
French had recently purchased a
new home in the Parkview neighborhood
on the Southwest Side in
June, records show.
Her neighbor, who identified
himself only as Johnny R., was
shocked to learn the fallen officer
from recent news reports was the
same “decent person” who lived
next door to him.
“That breaks my heart right
there,” Johnny, 62, told the Chicago
Sun-Times. “She literally just
moved in.
38 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 39