Jurors view harrowing body-camera footage in trial of man accused of killing Chicago police Officer Ella French

CHICAGO — The traffic stop started like most others: Lights and sirens were activated, the police cruiser slowed to a stop and Officer Ella French and her partners walked to the vehicle.

Jurors on Tuesday watched footage from police body cameras that showed a relatively normal traffic stop devolve into stunning violence. They saw and heard frenzied movements, a battery of gunshots, then a brief silence.

French’s body camera caught a sliver of her face as she lay on the ground. Her partner’s camera, Carlos Yanez Jr., showed trees and the night sky.

“Because of body worn camera, you will have a front row seat to the absolute carnage this defendant unleashed on those police officers,” Assistant State’s Attorney Scott Clark told the jury in opening statements Tuesday at the trial of the man accused of killing French, which is expected to last about a week.

Emonte Morgan, 23, is charged with killing French, injuring Yanez and shooting at their third partner, Joshua Blas. His trial got off to an emotional start in a packed courtroom at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, with jurors taking in a close-up view of the shooting and its immediate aftermath.

Morgan is also charged with aggravated battery and other felonies in connection with the shooting on Aug. 7, 2021, in the 2200 block of West 63rd Street. His brother, Eric Morgan, was sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in the shooting in October.

The body camera footage showed the trio of officers pulling over an SUV driven by Eric Morgan, with his then-girlfriend Amanda Kirksy in the front passenger seat and Emonte Morgan in the back.

Eric Morgan took off running, according to prosecutors, so Blas chased him before returning to the scene when he heard gunfire.

“French … French!” Blas, the third officer, yelled when he arrived, according to the footage.

Small sobs were audible in the gallery, which was crowded with police officers and family members of French, Morgan, Yanez and Blas. Judge Ursula Walowski allowed courtroom doors to be opened for observers to listen in the hallways.

During her opening statement, Kristine Neal, a public defender representing Morgan, countered that portions of the body camera footage are unclear because the individuals were too close together, leaving open questions about how the shootings transpired.

“Sliding doors is the concept of things in your life happening that change everything going forward in the blink of an eye,” Neal said. “That is what happened to everyone involved on Aug. 7, 2021.”

French, 29, elicited praise from many corners of the community in the days and weeks after her killing. Yanez, who is expected to testify later in the trial, was physically disabled from the shooting, prosecutors said.

“Today you will see the last thing that Officer Ella French ever saw in her life,” Clark told the jury. “Today you will hear the last thing Officer Ella French heard in her life.”

The state’s first witness was Elizabeth French, Ella’s mother, who told the jury about her final phone call with her daughter, just before she started her last shift.

Ella had called her mother to pass the time during the drive to her district, she told jurors Tuesday. Elizabeth French then ended the call as she always did: that she loves her, to be careful and to be safe.

“She liked to call me on her way to work,” French testified, smiling through tears.

The jury also heard extensively from Blas and from Kirksy, who broke down crying when prosecutors played the body camera footage of French’s slaying during her testimony.

According to prosecutors, French, Yanez and Blas pulled over an SUV occupied by Emonte Morgan, his brother Eric and a woman for expired plates. Eric Morgan handed over the keys when asked, prosecutors have alleged, but Emonte Morgan refused to put down a drink and a cellphone he was holding, leading to a scuffle, prosecutors said.

Eric Morgan ran away, while his brother fired shots at the officers during the scuffle, prosecutors alleged.

French and her partner fell to the ground between the car and the curb, prosecutors said. French’s body worn camera captured her run to try to help her partner, Yanez, then scream and fall.

Blas testified that Emonte Morgan did not comply with officers’ requests to put down his cellphone and an alcoholic drink he held in his other hand. Soon after, he said, he chased after Morgan’s brother, who ran away.

While he was running, Blas testified, he heard gunfire back where their police vehicle was parked. When he returned, he said, Emonte Morgan fired a gun at him, so he fired and hit him.

During cross examination, Jennifer Hodel, one of Morgan’s attorneys, questioned Blas on whether the traffic stop was necessary. The officers pulled over the vehicle for expired plates, though it later was discovered that the plates were valid.

Hodel also pointed out parts of the body camera footage in which the occupants of the vehicle appear to be cooperating with officers, as well as that Blas wasn’t present when the shooting happened.

“Is it fair to say you couldn’t see what was happening back on 63rd Street near the cars?” she said.

“Yes,” Blas replied.

Kirksy told the juror she heard gunfire and saw French fall. She said she did not see French with any weapon in her hand.

Clark said French was just shy of her 30th birthday.

“In a matter of seconds, he took Ella French’s life and changed Carlos Yanez’s life forever,” he said.

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