Chambana Sun

State Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) has no problem placing the blame in the tragic shooting death of Chicago Police Officer Ella French.

“Another tragedy as a result of the so-called ‘Criminal Justice Reform movement,’” Caulkins posted on Facebook. “Officer French was murdered during a routine traffic stop. 11 CPD officers have been shot so far this year. How do Democrats in the General Assembly and Gov. Pritzker justify the atmosphere of lawlessness they have created?”

Chicago residents recently gathered to salute French, gunned down earlier this month during a traffic stop where her partner was also critically injured.  

"Officer French died in service to our great city," Phillip Cline, executive director of the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation told CNN. "A small part of every one of us died when we lost Ella, not just members of the police department, but every Chicagoan."

A member of the department for three years, French, 29, and two other officers assigned to the department's Community Safety Team were conducting a stop on a vehicle with three occupants when gunfire erupted, according to Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown.

French later succumbed to her injuries at the University of Chicago Medical Center, where her partner is also reported to be "fighting for his life."

Police have charged bothers Emonte and Eric Morgan in connection with the shooting and both are now being held without bond.

In addition, authorities charged Jamel Danzy, 29, with several federal firearms violations, including making a straw purchase of the semi-automatic handgun used in the deadly encounter.

During Danzy's first court appearance, a judge set bond at $4,500, raising the ire of Brown, who blasted it as an “outrage.”

"When I heard this afternoon that a federal judge had released the man who illegally purchased and then supplied the gun used to murder Officer Ella French, I could not believe it," Brown said in a statement. "This decision sets a dangerous precedent that straw purchasers like Danzy are not a danger to society, despite the fact that his alleged actions directly led to the murder of a Chicago Police Officer and left another in critical condition.”