Partner of Ella French details injuries for jury during second day of testimony: ‘I heard gunfire right above me’
On his last night as a Chicago police officer, Carlos Yanez Jr. remembers pulling over an SUV, then nothing more until he was on the ground, struggling to breathe and listening to panicked yells from his partner.
“I heard gunfire right above me, and then I heard Josh screaming Yanez! Yanez! French!,” Yanez testified on Wednesday, referring to Detective Joshua Blas.
The trial for a man accused of killing police Officer Ella French and injuring Yanez resumed at the Leighton Criminal Court Building after an emotional start on Tuesday when the jury saw footage from body cameras that depicted the chaotic moments before and after the shooting.
Growing tearful at points throughout his testimony, Yanez described to the jury his injuries and long recovery after he and French were shot during a traffic stop near 63rd Street and Damen Avenue on Aug. 7, 2021.
Emonte Morgan, 23, is charged with murder and other felonies in connection with the shooting. His brother, Eric Morgan, was sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in the shooting in October.
Defense attorneys have contended that the body camera footage is too close and muffled to ascertain exactly what happened when Yanez and French were shot.
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.
Blas testified Tuesday that he chased after Eric Morgan while French and Yanez stayed behind. He heard gunfire, returned to the scene and found his two partners on the ground, he said.
Yanez can remember the beginning of the traffic stop, he said, but his memory is blank until after shortly after he was shot. He testified that he was paralyzed on the ground while he heard more gunfire.
“I couldn’t move anything,” he said.
In response to questions from prosecutors, Yanez detailed his injuries, pointing out an indentation on his head where a bullet pierced his skull. He rubbed his hands along his neck, telling the jury that he can feel a bullet that doctors advised should not be removed.
He said he can walk with the assistance of a leg brace, has a prosthetic eye and experiences ringing in his ears. He can no longer serve as a police officer.
He underwent rehabilitation for about a year, he testified, initially confined to a wheelchair. Over time, he said, he regained the ability to walk with the brace, though he can’t feel anything below his left knee.
“Today you were actually able to walk into this courtroom without the assistance of the walker?” Assistant State’s Attorney Emily Stevens asked during questioning.
“Yes,” Yanez replied.
On cross examination, defense attorneys focused on evidence of Morgan possessing a gun, and asked Yanez whether he yelled “gun, gun, gun” to alert other officers to the presence of a gun. He previously testified that police officers are trained to yell gun when they see one.
Yanez testified that he did not shout that.
Prosecutors also showed the jury more footage from body cameras depicting the arrests of the Morgan brothers near residences down the road from the shooting scene. The jury heard that after the shooting, Emonte Morgan, injured with a gunshot wound, ran away toward where his brother was.
Eric Morgan was tackled in a yard by good Samaritans, Assistant State’s Attorney Scott Clark said in opening statements, while Emonte Morgan collapsed. Eric Morgan was in possession of the gun at that point, prosecutors said.
Body camera video shown to the jury Wednesday showed Emonte on the ground on a sidewalk, and Eric, inside a fenced yard where investigators also recovered the gun, according to testimony.
The neighbor who tackled Eric Morgan testified through a Spanish interpreter that his family was cooking in the yard when they heard gunshots. He told his wife and kids to get inside, he said.
Eric Morgan hopped his fence and hit him with a metal object, he told the jury, but he and his brother-in-law held Morgan on the ground while they waited for police to arrive.
