Previously Unreleased Body Cam Footage Shows Final Moments Of Fallen CPD Officer's Life

CHICAGO—Body-cam footage capturing the deadly traffic stop that claimed the life of Chicago Police Officer Ella French and seriously wounded her partner, Carlos Yanez, was released Wednesday by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.

The two-minute and 10-second video was acquired in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from the Chicago Tribune. The footage shows French, Yanez and their colleague, CPD Officer Joshua Blas, stopping a vehicle driven by 22-year-old Eric Morgan the evening of Aug. 7, 2021. A previous court order kept the videos from being released.

“As we do so, it is important to remember that this video captures a profoundly tragic event. Our thoughts remain with Officer Ella French and Officer Carlos Yanez Jr., their loved ones, colleagues, and all those whose lives were forever changed by this incident. I encourage everyone who views this video and all videos COPA releases to do so with respect for those affected,” COPA chief administrator LaKenya White said in a statement.

COPA Chief Administrator LaKenya White

French was riding with two partners as part of a community safety team near 63rd Street and Bell Avenue. French and her partner, Yanez went to speak with the driver of a vehicle, later identified as Eric Morgan, that had expired license plates. His brother, Emonte “Monte” Morgan, 22, was sitting in the back seat. Both were accompanied by a woman riding in the front passenger seat who was released without being charged.

In the body cam footage, French is polite and calm. Her body camera captures glimpses of her beautifully manicured nails.

“Can you cut off the music? Can you cut off the power?” French asks Eric Morgan.

“We’re going to ask you to step out because I can see an open bottle of alcohol,” French tells the vehicle occupants.

French tells her colleagues that she will take the female passenger out of the vehicle first. She then asks Eric Morgan to step out of the vehicle.

“You guys have been smoking in here,” comments French. Emonte was later said to be found in possession of cannabis.

Eric Morgan tried to run, and Blas gave chase, catching up with him on Bell Avenue. Blas returned to the vehicle and called for backup as Chicago police officers started swarming the area.

Meanwhile, Yanez was also questioning the occupants. He, too, spots the open bottle of alcohol. He tells the female passenger that she is supposed to be wearing a seatbelt. Yanez asks the occupants if any of them have a FOID or concealed carry license.

“Oh, I gotta ask... No, it's because some people have FOIDs or concealed carry,” Yanez said. “Okay, no problem. We're just gonna have you step out if you want. I'll come around, I'll grab your ID.”

As Blas and Yanez continue to question Emonte Morgan and the female passenger, Emonte emerges from the back seat wearing a face mask down around his chin, holding his cell phone in his hand.

Yanez orders Emonte to turn the phone off and put it in his pocket or on top of the vehicle. Emonte says he’s talking to a friend.

“Why you say that?” Emonte Morgan asked Yanez.

“Cuz I don’t want nothing in your hands,” Yanez replied.

“Whachu mean?” Morgan asked again.

“What I said,” replied Yanez.

French continues to pat down Eric, who takes off running across 63rd Street. Blas gives chase. French can be heard yelling, “Halt,” then a gunshot. French screams.

Prosecutors said at the brothers’ bond court hearing that the officers’ body-worn cameras showed Emonte with a gun in his waistband as French and her partner tried to contain him. The struggle moved from the rear of the SUV and ended up at the open front passenger door.

Body-cam footage from other officers shows Yanez and Blas struggling to get Emonte into the passenger seat when he starts firing at the police officers. One of the bullets strikes French in the back of the head. Yanez is shot four times in the head, and his body camera captures him falling onto the pavement. Both officers’ guns were still holstered, prosecutors said during the brothers’ bond hearing.

Blas caught up with Eric Morgan on Bell Avenue. Hearing gunshots, he left Eric and headed back to the vehicle, where Emonte Morgan was alleged to have fired several gunshots. Eric was found hiding in a backyard on Bell Avenue, where neighbors sat on him until police arrived.

While on the ground, Blas said he saw both brothers meet across the street and begin running south on Bell. The prosecutor said the officer stood up and began firing at the brothers, hitting Emonte in the abdomen.

Until now, the videos had only been seen in court at the 2024 trial of Emonte Morgan, who was later convicted of French's murder.

A few days after the deadly shooting, the brothers’ mother, Evalena Flores, 41, of Chicago, was able to gain access to the floor where Emonte was hospitalized. Flores reportedly got into a fracas with security guards, and Oak Lawn police said she kicked a security guard in the groin. She was charged with misdemeanors including battery, resisting a peace officer, and criminal trespass to real property.

Eric Morgan would later plead guilty to obstruction of justice by destroying evidence, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon with a previous conviction. He was sentenced to three concurrent sentences of three, five and seven years, respectively.

A Hammond, IN, man, Janzey Danzey, 30, was also charged with illegally purchasing the .22-caliber Glock semiautomatic pistol used to kill French and wound Yanez. Both Morgan brothers had prior criminal records and could not legally purchase a weapon. The gun was found at the scene and traced to Danzey, who bought it for one of the Morgan brothers at a Hammond gun store a few months before the deadly traffic stop, prosecutors said. Danzey was sentenced to 2½ years in a federal prison.

During Danzey's sentencing, Elizabeth French recounted seeing the body of her daughter for the first time at the University of Chicago Hospital.

“My heart shattered … My lovely baby girl is lying on a table, still and silent in death. ... I am sobbing, ‘My baby girl, my baby girl,’” she said. “I hug her. I hold her face … I want her to wake up and start talking to me.”

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- Brothers Charged In Fatal Shooting of Chicago Police Officer

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- Morgan Brothers' Mom Kicks Hospital Security Guard In Groin: Cops

- Straw Purchaser Of Gun Used To Fatally Shoot Ella French Sentenced

- Community Dedicates Statue Of Slain Officer Ella French And Dog Bella In Chicago Park