Man gets life without parole for murder of Chicago Police Officer Ella French

CHICAGO (CBS) — A judge handed down a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for the man who shot and killed Chicago Police Officer Ella French and injured Officer Carlos Yanez Jr. back in 2021.

Emonte Morgan was found guilty in March. Cook County Criminal Court Judge Ursula Walowski sentenced Morgan in a courtroom at the George N. Leighton Criminal Courthouse Wednesday.

Morgan was convicted of first-degree murder for killing Officer French on Aug.7, 2021, during a traffic stop when he was pulled over with his brother Eric at 63rd Street and Bell Avenue in West Englewood.

Prosecutors said French, Yanez, and Officer Joshua Blas pulled over Emonte Morgan and his brother, Eric, for expired plates on their sport-utility vehicle. While Eric Morgan handed over the keys when asked, Emonte Morgan refused to put down his drink and cell phone, leading to a struggle with the three officers.

Blas testified at trial that Emonte Morgan shot and killed Officer French, shot and wounded Yanez, and tried to shoot Blas as well during the scuffle.

Several other officers responded, putting French and Yanez into squad cars to bring them to the hospital. Doctors were unable to save French. Yanez lost an eye and is now partially blind, and he walks with a limp after being told he might never be able to move the left side of his body again.

Prosecutors say neither officer pulled out a weapon, but Morgan fired shots at both officers — killing French.

Inside a packed courtroom at the George N. Leighton Criminal Courthouse Wednesday, police Supt. Larry Snelling sat next to Officer Yanez, Yanez's wife, French's mother, and Officer Blas.

At the hearing, Morgan's defense essentially tried to debunk evidence and asked for a new trial. Morgan's defense team has claimed he was trying to toss the gun when it went off, while his mother has insisted her son was not guilty and accused police of a "cover-up."

"I just wanted to make an announcement to the public that I am not a mother that's delusional. I am not in denial or confused," Morgan's mother, Evalena Flores, said Wednesday. "I know my son is 100% innocent, these people will go at great lengths to cover up all the mistakes they made that gruesome night."

The motion for a new trial was denied.

Meanwhile, tearful victim impact statements were heard Wednesday from Officer Yanez's family, Officer French's mother, and Officer Blas. Officer Yanez's father, retired CPD Officer Carlos Yanez Sr., did not mince words when he talked about hearing his son had been shot and not knowing if the younger Yanez would survive.

Yanez Sr. said all the family's pain was brought about by a "f***ing a**hole who should've been brought down a long time ago."

This started a heated exchange with Flores, Morgan's mother, who said: "My son is a victim. Your son is the f***ing a**hole."

Flores was escorted from the courtroom.

Officer Yanez himself also provided a victim impact statement—emphasizing that he was shot in the head four times and once in the shoulder, and was left with his life hanging by a thread. He also said he still has bullet fragments in his head and shoulder, and he does not know whether they someday might cause paralysis or death.

"I would like to tell you, you have taken so much that night. You killed Ella French and left me for dead. I was bleeding on the curb as you stood over our bodies," Officer Yanez told Morgan. "I'm here before you today to say you will not take any more. I will continue to fight everyday like I did that horrific night. I will never forgive you and I don't care what excuses you have. You f****d up that night and took so much away."

French's mother, Elizabeth French, talked a bout losing her baby girl with whom she thought she'd have a lifetime. She pointed out passing by Rainbow Cone recently and deciding not to stop because it was full—but also having it hit her that she will never get to have a Rainbow Cone with her daughter because Morgan shot and killed the young officer.

"Your choice was to become the murderer of my daughter, and with choices comes consequences. I hope that yours will be life in prison," said Elizabeth French. "But what does that mean? It means you will have your life something you took away from. Ella Your mother can still tell you she loves you—something I can never do again."

These statements left few dry eyes in the courtroom.

Morgan faces up to life in prison.