Chicago Police Officer Ella French was laid to rest Saturday at Queen of Heaven Catholic Cemetery, with family, friends and her fellow officers all present as she reached her final resting place.
French was shot and killed during a traffic stop earlier this month. Her partner Officer Carlos Yanez was also shot and critically wounded, and is still recovering in an area hospital.
The officer was honored this week with a visitation on Wednesday and a funeral service on Thursday. The service, held at the St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel, drew hundreds of officers, public officials and family and friends.
Yanez’s father also attended the service, bringing with him a t-shirt from his son. He asked that it be given to French because he wanted “a little bit of me to be with her,” according to family members.
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French was laid to rest Saturday after a procession and a ceremony at Queen of Heaven Catholic Cemetery, according to Chicago Police:
CPD spokesman Tom Ahern also posted photos of the procession and the burial service:
French is the first CPD officer to be killed in the line of duty since Officers Eduardo Marmolejo and Conrad Charles Gary were struck by a Metra train in Dec. 2018 while investigating a call of shots fired. A month prior to that, Officer Samuel Jimenez was shot and killed during an attack at Chicago’s Mercy Hospital that left three other people, including the gunman, dead.
