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Who is Ella French's brother? Iraq war veteran Andrew French says 'God took the wrong kid'

Ella French, along with an unnamed colleague, was shot at by three suspects — two brothers Eric and Emonte Morgan, and a woman

The grief-stricken brother of slain Chicago cop Ella French has spoken out after his sister was killed during an armed confrontation with three suspects on the city's South Side on Saturday night, August 7.

Ella, along with an unnamed colleague, was shot at by three suspects — two brothers Eric and Emonte Morgan, and a woman. The suspects opened fire at French and her colleague after which the cops returned fire and this back and forth resulted in French being fatally shot. French is survived by a 2-month-old daughter. She was one of 10 people killed and 64 wounded by gun violence all across Chicago over the weekend. After her untimely death, Ella's brother Andrew French has given emotional interviews to local newspapers. Some of the other cop deaths that made headlines this year include those of Kyle DeFreytag and Austin William Lanz.

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Who is Andrew French?

"I was proud of her, I’m still proud of her... God took the wrong kid," Andrew French, who is an Iraq War veteran, told Chicago Tribune. "She was the epitome of a good Samaritan. And she was the best sister. It didn’t matter what I was going through or how hard things were hitting me, she was always there."

French said that his sister wanted to accomplish a number of things even before joining the force three years back. "She’s always done the right thing even when nobody’s looking. She’s always believed in people and believed in doing the right thing. She’s always believed in taking care of people that can’t take care of themselves," he told the paper. For example, she wanted to create opportunities for convicts to get therapy or social services rather than serving additional jail time. In an interview with Chicago Sun-Times, Andrew said that his sister "always wanted to make a difference." "I was never surprised when she said she was going to be a sheriff and then a cop. It just made sense," he added.

Andrew said their mother, who adopted both siblings, taught them the importance of kindness and helping others. "She raised us to be of service. To care. To have integrity," he said. Ella, who was close with her mother, was not married, he added. Ella and her mother shared a passion for travel. "She was there for my mom. She was reliable. ... She’s my sister, she’s my little sister. And as much as I was there for her when we were growing up, she was there for me," he said. 

'The police are not our enemies'

At the news conference, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot declared Sunday an official day of mourning and ordered all city buildings to have flags lowered to half-staff. She also called for the end of the constant calls for police reform. 

"There are some who say we do not do enough for the police, and that we are handcuffing them from doing their jobs," she said. "There are others who say we do too much for the police and that we never hold them accountable for what they do, particularly in Black and brown neighborhoods. To all of this, I say stop. Just stop. This constant strife is not what we need in this moment." Lightfoot added: "The police are not our enemies. They're human just as we are…We must come together. We must unite. We have a common enemy: It's the guns and the gangs."