Police Ella French died in Chicago.
Photo: Chicago PD / Getty Images
A young 29-year-old police officer died after a shooting stemming from a traffic stop in Chicago.
Ella French who had returned to the service a few weeks ago after taking a two-month-old daughter’s maternity leave, was seriously injured and died in a hospital after the event.
His partner was seriously injured and is torn between life and death in a hospital. Crime has hit the police force in the city.
CPD will #NeverForget – RIP! pic.twitter.com/kW4s2O5WWI
– Chicago Police (@Chicago_Police) August 8, 2021
The officers were cowardly attacked after arresting a vehicle in which two men and a woman were traveling in the southern part of the city around 9 pm on Saturday.
She and her partner responded to the fire and managed to injure one of the occupants, for which they managed to make two arrests. The woman fled.
The young police officer was rushed to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he died hours later.
Dozens of officers arrived and set up a guard outside the hospital, grieving over the first death of an active duty officer since 2018.
The new mother had joined the police only in 2018 to be part of the community security team, a unit that serves hotspots in the city, hit by a growing wave of violence.
Officer Ella French of the Chicago Police Department was shot and killed last night while working on duty. Please continue to pray for the family of Officer French and the fast recovery of her partner who was also shot.
This violence towards LE must end! pic.twitter.com/3hmt2Z0Zz8
– Chief Scott Hughes (@ChiefShughes) August 8, 2021
“The officer who succumbed to her injuries was very young at work, but incredibly enthusiastic about serving.”Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said outside the hospital.
“This is a very tragic and sad day for our city. Pray for the officers, men and women of this department ”, Lighfoot said.
“They deserve our prayers every day so that they can return home safely to their families, unfortunately that did not happen tonight.” added.
French is the first police casualty since Lightfoot became mayor in 2019.
Last year, the police department deemed the deaths of four other Chicago officers who succumbed to COVID-19 to be in the line of duty.
In 2018 Eduardo Marmolejo and Conrad Gary were killed by a train while looking for a suspect in illegal possession of a weapon. In November of that same year, the last fatal shooting of a Chicago officer, Samuel Jiménez, 28, took place.
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