Harrowing bodycam footage of the moment Chicago cop Ella Frech was shot to death on duty was played in court this week — capturing the heart-wrenching cries of a colleague begging her to “stay with me.”
Court officials, family members and attorneys watched in horror Tuesday as the footage was played to decide if it should be allowed in full during the murder trial of accused shooter Emonte Morgan, which is due to start next week.
French’s bodycam caught shots ringing out in August, 2021 as the 29-year-old officer was shot dead and her partner, Officer Carlos Yanez Jr., seriously injured — with the officers heard gasping for air, NBC Chicago said.
“French, Yanez. Stay with me,” another officer was heard repeatedly pleading, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
French, an officer of three years, succumbed to her injuries, while her partner spent weeks in a local hospital recovering from gunshot wounds to the eye, brain, and shoulder.
The video shows “a cold-blooded murder and attempted murder of two officers, and it’s irrefutable,” John Catanzara, president of the local lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, told the Sun-Times after attending the hearing with relatives of the fallen cop.
Attorneys representing Morgan, now 23, have asked the judge to limit some of the audio from the videos — which were played on televisions positioned toward the attorneys and judge, and away from the gallery.
They argued that some of what was said during the altercation was overly prejudicial to their client, and contained hearsay statements, according to the Sun-Times.
But prosecutors said they already muted some of the audio they agreed could be prejudicial, including unspecified comments Yanez made as he lay wounded.
They also asked that jurors be allowed to hear statements made by the third cop on the scene, Officer Joshua Blas, as he reacted to seeing his two colleagues shot.
Judge Ursula Walowski agreed, saying they were “highly relevant evidence” to Morgan’s criminal trial, which is expected to kick off on Monday with jury selection.
Catanzara said it was clear from the footage there was no excessive force used before the shooting.
“It was as textbook a traffic stop as you can have — up until the point that it wasn’t,” he said.
Morgan’s brother, Eric Morgan, 25, ultimately pleaded guilty in October to aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, battery with a deadly weapon and obstruction of justice.
He was sentenced to seven years behind bars.