Jury empaneled in trial for man accused of killing Chicago Officer Ella French

A jury on Monday was empaneled after several hours of questioning to hear the case against a man accused of shooting and killing Chicago police Officer Ella French during a traffic stop in Englewood in 2021.

The jurors will hear opening statements Tuesday morning in a courtroom at the Leighton Criminal Courts Building likely to be filled with police officers, family members and other supporters.

French, 29, was killed and her partner, Carlos Yanez Jr., was injured during the Aug. 7, 2021, traffic stop, spurring a wave of grief and anger across the city.

Emonte Morgan, 23, is charged in an 85-count indictment with murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery and other felonies in connection with the slaying of French and the wounding of Yanez and for allegedly firing on Officer Joshua Blas. His brother, Eric Morgan, in October was sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in the shooting.

Judge Ursula Walowski questioned jurors, as did the prosecutors and Morgan’s public defenders, trying to determine whether pretrial publicity may have influenced them or whether any biases may affect their ability to come to a just verdict.

“I completely support the police,” one prospective juror told the judge, adding that she could not view the case in an unbiased way. She was not chosen for the jury.

Many potential jurors reported having heard about the case, including one who said she had a “visceral reaction” to the news. Most, though, reported they could put aside anything they had previously learned.

Morgan entered the courtroom before the jury pool on Monday, making a heart with his hands in the direction of family members sitting in the gallery. One relative, wearing a shirt that said “Justice for Emonte Morgan,” was asked to cover the message with a jacket.

Prosecutors also asked Walowski to empower sheriff’s deputies to take down flyers they said Morgan’s family had posted on city poles outside the courthouse between the building and parking garage.

“The flyers are posted right outside the courthouse where our jurors may walk back and forth,” said Assistant State’s Attorney Scott Clark.

One such flyer on a pole outside the building showed photographs of Morgan in high school and called for body camera footage to be released. Some footage will be played during the trial.

“I think people should have a First Amendment right to protest whenever they want to,” said Assistant Public Defender Ryan Carlsen.

Walowski said she would ask deputies to remove the flyers. She ruled that the family members’ right to free speech was not violated because they were able to post the flyers, but that did not preclude deputies from removing them from city property.

Prosecutors have alleged that Emonte Morgan fired multiple shots at the officers after French and two fellow officers stopped a gray SUV driven by Eric Morgan near West 63rd Street and South Bell Avenue on Aug. 7, 2021. Emonte Morgan was also shot during the confrontation.

French had served as an officer since April 2018, and was praised after her death by the department and community for her care and compassion.

Anjanette Young, subject of a botched raid by the Chicago Police Department, released a statement after the slaying to say that French “was the only officer who showed Ms. Young any dignity or respect on the night of the raid.”

And months before she died, French helped rush a baby with a gunshot wound to the hospital.

“She really cared about her community; that’s why I’m glad to say I actually saw her hands-on,” the baby’s uncle said. “She was really kindhearted. She had a great spirit.”

Prosecutors and defense attorneys have tussled over evidence and courtroom details in recent months. Defense attorneys unsuccessfully tried to move the trial out of Cook County due to the pretrial publicity as well as prohibit uniformed officers from crowding the courtroom, arguing it would “intimidate the jury.”

A hearing last Tuesday offered a preview of what will likely be an emotionally charged trial when prosecutors played body-camera video of the traffic stop, including anguished moments after the shooting when an officer yelled “French” after she had fallen. Prosecutors agreed to silence some parts of the video, but large portions of it will be shown to the jury.

On the night she was killed, French, Yanez and Blas pulled over the SUV for expired plates, prosecutors have said, while Eric Morgan was driving his brother and a female passenger.

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 Emonte Morgan 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, with both their guns still holstered. Blas had been chasing Eric Morgan.

Blas returned and was fired upon by Emonte Morgan, prosecutors said. He returned fire and hit Morgan.