CHICAGO, Ill. (WTVO) — About 30 police officers turned their backs in unison as Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot visited a hospital following the shooting of two officers over the weekend.
Officer Ella French was killed, and another officer wounded, in a shooting during a traffic stop on Saturday.
Police said officers were conducting a traffic stop in the 6300 block of South Bell Street in the West Englewood neighborhood just around 9 p.m.
Officers had stopped a vehicle with three occupants inside, two men and one woman. According to police, the occupants inside the vehicle opened fire towards the officers, leading to an exchange in gunfire.
The officers were struck by gunfire at the scene. Both were taken to the hospital where French died from her injuries.
The Chicago Sun Times reported that around midnight, Lightfoot visited the hospital and tried to talk to the male officer’s father, a retired police officer, but the man yelled at Lightfoot and blamed her for what happened.
Moments later, as Lightfoot moved to speak to the gathered officers, they turned their backs on her in a display that appeared almost choreographed, a witness told the Sun Times.
“Turning their backs on the mayor was an excellent example of how the hundreds of police officers felt waiting outside the hospital,” said John Catanzara, president of the Fraternal Order of Police.
“They have had enough and are no longer going to remain silent anymore,” he said.
