Feb 2024. Blues Vol 40 No. 2

ation. Ramos could have otherwise
faced up to a year in jail on
the misdemeanor conviction.
Three people who were shot
by Ramos spoke in court during
his sentencing Tuesday about the
ongoing recovery process, both
physically and emotionally.
“It was only by the grace of
God that nobody was killed on
the night an officer unleashed
bullets into a crowd of innocent
civilians,” said Willis Small, who
was shot in the foot.
“The world doesn’t seem as
safe or familiar as it used to be,”
said Yekalo Weldehiwet. “It’s like
I lost something, and finding my
way back feels really tough.”
Ramos and two other Denver
police officers confronted Jordan
Waddy, 23, around 1:30 a.m.
July 17, 2022, as bars closed in
the busy LoDo nightlife district.
The officers believed Waddy was
carrying a gun and followed him
through streets crowded with
pedestrians. They confronted
Waddy, who pulled a gun from
his clothing and was holding it
by the slide on top of the gun
when the officers fired, body
camera footage shows.
Three officers fired, shooting
Waddy, but also injuring six bystanders.
A grand jury later determined
that only Ramos’ shots
hit the bystanders and that the
other two officers did not injure
any bystanders. Waddy and the
bystanders all survived.
Ramos, who fired from a different
angle than the other two
officers, could see there was a
large crowd of people behind
Waddy and should not have
fired, the grand jury found. Waddy
never turned the gun toward
Ramos or directly threatened
him, the grand jury found.
“The police shot me and five
other innocent bystanders,”
Bailey Alexander said in court
Tuesday. “The police. How is that
possible? They are supposed to
protect us from the bad guys,
right? … It was a police officer
who hit me. It was a police
officer who pulled the trigger. It
was Mr. Ramos.”
Denver police and the police
union defended the police officers’
actions in the days after the
incident, and then-Mayor Michael
Hancock said he was surprised
that Ramos was criminally
charged.
“It (was) incredibly difficult
and tragic not only for the
victims, but also for the city,”
District Court Judge Nikea Bland
said before sentencing Ramos
Tuesday. “As a citizen of this city,
it’s really polarized the city in a
way that is not helpful for us to
continue to grow together. …The
plea agreement is appropriate
based on what I have seen about
the case, and ultimately, despite
the fact Ramos is not serving
time in custody, it’s a life-altering
plea agreement.”
Ramos has been suspended
without pay from the police department
since the charges were
filed. The police department
did not immediately answer an
inquiry about his employment
status after the guilty plea Tuesday.
CHICAGO OFFICERS CAN
WEAR UNIFORMS TO SUS-
PECTED COP KILLER’S TRIAL,
JUDGE DECIDES
By Joanna Putman
Police1
CHICAGO — Police officers who
wish to attend the trial of a murder
suspect in the case of Officer
Ella French are allowed to come
to court in uniform, the Chicago
Sun-Times reported.
Defense attorneys had asked
that officers who attend the trial
of Emonte Morgan, 23, not wear
their uniforms, citing concerns
that a “sea of blue” might intimidate
the jury, according to the
report.
The incident occurred on Aug.
7, 2021, when Officer Ella French
and her partners pulled over Eric
Morgan, 25. Emonte was in the
backseat, according to the report.
After Eric refused to put down
a drink and a cell phone he was
holding, a struggle with officers
ensued. During the struggle,
Emonte produced a handgun
from his waistband and shot
French and her partner, Officer
Carlos Yanez. The suspects were
taken into custody after trying
to flee, according to the report.
French did not survive.
Officers did wear uniforms in
the October trial of Morgan’s
brother, Eric Morgan, 25, who
pleaded guilty to battery with
a deadly weapon and obstruction
of justice in the incident. He
was sentenced to seven years in
prison, the maximum allowed
for the charges, according to the
report.
Defense attorneys filed several
motions to keep the shows of
support for French at bay during
Emonte’s trial, claiming they
wanted to prevent it from “becoming
a circus,” according to
the report.
Judge Ursula Walowski, who
also presided over Eric’s trial,
stated she would not let that
happen, according to the report.
50 The Blues - February ‘24