Nearly five years after Chicago Police Officer Ella French was killed during a South Side traffic stop, the city’s police watchdog has released body-worn camera footage of her final moments to the public.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability, or COPA, on June 17, 2026, posted clips from multiple cameras that capture the chaotic traffic stop at 63rd Street and Bell Avenue. The footage, which has now been made available online after an internal review, recreates the moments before and after the shooting. Family members, jurors and investigators had already seen some of the videos. This release gives the wider public access to the same material.
COPA posts videos after FOIA request
COPA made the videos public in response to a freedom-of-information request filed earlier in 2026, according to the Chicago Tribune. Agency spokeswoman Lakenya White told the Tribune the decision was "in keeping with our commitment to transparency and public accountability." The Tribune also reported that the clips do not show visible injuries to French or to her wounded partner, Officer Carlos Yanez Jr.
What jurors saw at trial
Jurors watched the same body-worn camera footage during the 2024 criminal trial that ended in a guilty verdict, according to WTTW. Testimony and reporting from that trial described graphic clips of French approaching the SUV that had been pulled over and the frantic scramble that followed the initial exchange. Prosecutors leaned heavily on those recordings in court, making them the clearest public record of what happened before and after the gunfire.
Case outcomes
In March 2024, Emonte Morgan was convicted of first-degree murder and related charges and later received a life sentence, according to Fox 32 Chicago. The Associated Press reported that Eric Morgan, who prosecutors say was driving the SUV, pleaded guilty in October 2023 to aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, battery and obstruction and was sentenced to seven years in prison. Those resolutions closed out the criminal cases tied to the August 7, 2021, traffic stop and cleared the legal path for the footage and related materials to be posted publicly.
Why the footage was withheld originally
Back in August 2021, COPA announced that a Cook County judge had issued an order barring the agency and other city entities from releasing video and related records while the criminal prosecutions were pending. That notice remains archived on COPA’s website. The restriction was meant to protect the integrity of the cases and the evidentiary record and typically stays in place until a judge or prosecutors authorize a change. Once those limits were lifted, COPA’s standard freedom-of-information procedures and its Video Release Policy allowed the agency to move ahead with publication.
Family, union and transparency debates
At sentencing, French’s mother told the court that true closure may never come and that she will miss her daughter every day, according to reporting from WTTW. Police union leaders have called the footage a grim reminder of how quickly a routine traffic stop can turn deadly, a reaction covered by the Chicago Tribune. Transparency advocates argue that public access to such videos can help answer lingering questions about police encounters, while also warning that repeatedly circulating traumatic material can deepen the pain for victims’ families and witnesses.
The full set of body-worn camera files is now posted on COPA’s public case page for case number 2021-3097. There, the agency also lists contact information for witnesses, along with instructions for submitting tips and freedom-of-information requests. COPA says it will continue to follow its Video Release Policy and respond to requests as legal rules and court orders change.
