Chicago Police Officer Shot In Englewood Leaves Hospital

CHICAGO – A Chicago police officer who was shot last week trying to conduct a traffic stop in Englewood received cheers from her fellow officers and supporters when she was released from University of Chicago Hospital Medical Center.

Officer Fernanda Ballesteros, 27, and her partner were riding in the 6100 block of South Paulina last Wednesday when they attempted to pull over a driver. The driver sped up and slowed down, until he was parallel with the officer’s patrol vehicle. Police said the driver fired into the officers’ vehicle.

Ballesteros was hit in the head. Her partner transported her to the hospital. She was shot about a mile from where Officer Ella French was gunned down and slain last year also during a traffic stop.

The officer was pushed out of the hospital holding a bouquet of flowers and wiping away tears as her colleagues saluted her. Ballesteros rose up from her wheelchair as a mariachi band played, hugging one of her colleagues. Another officer stepped forward and kissed her hand. She was able to climb into the vehicle taking her home under her own power.

“And most importantly, thank you to Officer Young, my partner who had my back and carried me to safety,” she said in a video statement. “I’m forever grateful for his quick thinking and swift response. You were my guardian angel that night.”

Ballesteros is a 3-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department and assigned to the 7th Police District. Police had “internally” identified a suspect, but no arrests have been made.

She also encouraged another 7th Police District officer, who was shot Sunday in the same area while trying to conduct a similar operation. Officers shot and critically wounded the driver, who police said open fire on them in a dead end alley.