Chicago police officer Ella French was killed and her partner was seriously wounded in a shooting Aug. 7 in West Englewood, officials said.
The officers were shot during a traffic stop shortly after 9 p.m. at 63rd Street and Bell Avenue and returned fire, hitting and wounding at least one suspect, police said.
Both officers were taken to University of Chicago Medical Center, where French was pronounced dead, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
The other officer was “fighting for his very life” in critical condition, according to First Deputy Eric Carter who talked to reporters outside the hospital early the following morning.
Two brothers have been charged in connection with the shooting, and a man believed to have acted as the so-called straw purchaser of the gun used in the incident has also been charged.
The shooting has also exacerbated growing rifts between Chicago Police Department’s top brass, its officers and city officials.
Tributes have poured in from all over the city for French, as many officers, firefighters and supporters have gathered to mourn at memorials, a vigil and a prayer service.
