Two brothers charged in Chicago shooting that killed police officer Ella French and wounded another
French was part of a three-officer Community Safety Team that pulled over a car due to expired plates, police say
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Brothers Emonte and Eric Morgan are facing charges over the weekend shooting of Ella French, the first female police officer to be killed in Chicago in 33 years. A third man, Jamel Danzy, has been charged with allegedly supplying the weapon.
The arrests come after a weekend of mourning for the slain 29-year-old officer, the first killed in the line of duty in the city since 2018 and the first female on the job since the 1980s. Her partner was critically wounded but is “incrementally improving”, police said.
The youngest brother Emonte, 21, was charged with first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder of a peace officer, one count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, and one count of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, Chicago Police confirmed.
Eric, 22, is charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon as well as one count of obstructing justice. They are expected to appear before court on Tuesday.
Mr Danzy was separately charged by federal prosecutors for purchasing the gun under false pretences and handing it over to one of the brothers before it was used in the shooting, The Chicago Tribute reported.
Chicago Police superintendent David Brown said during a press conference that another person with the Morgan brothers who fled the shooting, a woman, has not been charged.
He said Emonte struggled with French from the trunk to near the inside of the car during the traffic stop in West Englewood on Saturday. One of the brothers was shot in an exchange of gunfire.
French was part of a three-officer Community Safety Team that pulled over the car due to expired plates, Mr Brown said.
Investigators were “still working” on a motive behind why the shootout erupted. Mr Brown told the press conference on Monday evening that Chicago officers feel alone, unsupported and a lot of anger as a result of a “consistent beatdown” and criticism of the police from across society and on social media.
“It’s past time to stop this imbalanced treatment of police officers in Chicago and everywhere in this country,” Mr Brown said.
“But for these types of traffic stops, our cities wouldn’t be safe... officers put themselves in harms way stopping suspects like this so we can all sleep safely in our homes at night,” he added.