CHICAGO (AP) — A 29-year-old female police officer in Chicago was killed and another officer was seriously wounded in an exchange of gunfire during a traffic stop, officials said on Sunday, the city’s mayor later citing the shooting as a reason for Chicagoans to work together to stem violence.
The officer killed on Saturday night was identified as Ella French, according to a post on the Chicago Police Department’s Facebook page on Sunday. French’s death was the first fatal shooting of a Chicago officer in the line of duty since 2018 and the first female officer fatally shot on the job in 33 years.
“We will never forget the true bravery she exemplified as she laid her life down to protect others,” the department said of French on Facebook, adding that fellow officers will “grieve the loss of this hero.” The department also requested support for French’s “wounded partner, who is in the hospital fighting for his life”.
At a news conference, Mayor Lori Lightfoot urged Chicagoans to end the acrimony between ardent police proponents who say officers are hampered by overly burdensome rules and staunch critics who say officers act with impunity.
“Stop. Just stop,” she said. “This constant strife is not what we need in this moment.”
The shooting of the officers occurred on another violent summer weekend in the nation’s third largest city, with at least 64 people shot, 10 fatally, by Sunday afternoon, ABC7 in Chicago reported.
“The police are not our enemies,” Lightfoot added at the news conference. “We must come together… We have a common enemy: It’s the guns and the gangs.”
Officers had stopped a vehicle with two men and a woman inside just after 9pm on Chicago’s South Side, when a male passenger opened fire, Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said during the same news conference.
Officers returned fire, striking the passenger who appeared to fire at them, said Brown. He did not release the condition of that man. All three are in custody, but no charges had been filed, he said.
Police also did not identify the three who have been arrested.
When asked about the condition of the injured officer, Brown responded, “Critical. We need your prayers.”
