New details released in fatal shooting of Chicago Police Officer Ella French
CHICAGO - The two brothers charged in the murder of a Chicago police officer appeared in criminal court on Tuesday, where a judge ordered them held without bond pending their trial.
Prosecutors say the brothers' car was pulled over Saturday night for expired plates. They say three officers approached the car and the situation exploded after the younger brother — accused shooter Monte Morgan — refused to cooperate and became unruly.
"Monte Morgan exited that vehicle with a drink in one hand and a cell phone in the other. He refused repeated instructions to set those items down," said Risa Lanier, Interim First Assistant State's Attorney. "He began physically jerking his arms away from those officers."
Moments later, Lanier says Morgan pulled a .22 caliber handgun from his waistband and fired several shots, hitting and killing 29-year old Officer Ella French with a single shot to the head, and hitting a second officer in the shoulder and the right eye. That officer is fighting for his life in the hospital with a bullet lodged in his brain.
Ella French | Chicago Police Department
"Defendant Monte Morgan fired multiple shots, striking both Officer French and Victim 2. After being fired upon and struck, Officer French and Victim 2 both fell to the ground between the stopped car and the curb," said Lanier.
A large group of officers showed up to bond court at 26th and Cal in a show of support. Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara criticized Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, and CPD's top brass for not being present.
"Our department needs to do better, our elected officials need to do better for our men and women," said Catanzara. "This needs to stop. That's all I have to say."
"The Cook County State's Attorney's Office stands with the Chicago Police Department and the families of those officers in their time of mourning," said Lanier. "And for the two offenders that have been charged in this case, we will prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law."
Outside court, prosecutors said the initial responding officers "had their own guns holstered the entire time" of the incident. Monte Morgan was later shot and wounded by a second group of officers who were called for backup. He is under police watch at the hospital.