Wounded partner of slain cop Ella French moves to rehab after losing eye and being partially paralyzed in traffic stop shooting
A Chicago police officer left partially paralyzed in a shooting that killed his partner was moved to a rehabilitation center Sunday, but still faces 'a long road ahead,' the city's police superintendent says.
Officer Carlos Yanez, Jr.'s move out of the hospital on August 22 marks 'a major step in his recovery process,' Chicago police Superintendent David Brown said Monday.
Yanez, 39, lost an eye and was left partially paralyzed when he was shot three times on Aug. 7 in a shooting during a routine traffic stop that killed his 29-year-old partner, officer Ella French. They had pulled over a vehicle for expired plates when a passenger in the vehicle opened fire.
'He still has a long road ahead, but we are grateful for the progress he is making,' Brown said.
'We suspect home modifications, accommodations, and transportation needs to increase accessibility and quality of life,' wrote sister Nicole Yanez on a GoFundMe for Yanez's treatment, which has raised $315,815 since it was launched on August 15.
In a Facebook post August 23, Yanez wrote that her brother 'can almost do a left thumbs up and moved his left pinky toe,' since moving to rehab.
'He reports he was able to lift his right leg a bit as well.'
The shooting suspect, 21-year-old Emonte 'Monte' Morgan, was shot in the abdomen by a third officer. He has been arrested and is charged with first-degree murder of a peace officer and attempted murder.
His brother, 22-year-old Eric Morgan, who prosecutors say was driving the vehicle, also was arrested. He faces gun charges and an obstruction of justice charge. Both were being held in Cook County Jail without bail.
The Cook County State's Attorney did not return a call requesting an update on the brothers' court case.
A third man accused of acting as a straw purchaser to buy the gun used in the shooting faces federal gun charges.
Carlos Yanez Jr. with his mother and father - Carlos Yanez Sr., a retired Chicago police officer
'He's still fighting. He's still trying to live for his son – 3-year-old son, Carlos III,' Yanez's father, Carlos Yanez Sr., said at the wake for Ella Fitzgerald on August 18.
Eric Morgan and Emonte 'Monty' Morgan were said to have been driving with expired license plates, prompting police to pull them over
Another GoFundMe for French's family and funeral expenses has raised $13,050 since August 8.
Yanez and his partner, 29-year-old Ella French, were shot in the West Englewood neighborhood on August 7
A doctor, Nicole Yanez is coordinating her brother's medical care team and sending updates on Facebook.
When Yanez was first moved from the ICU on August 15, Nicole said he could not move his right leg or the left side of his body. Each day, per her updates, he is able to move more and more and his speech improves.
Today, she wrote that it was 'really nice to see Carlos in his own clothes' after his long hospital stay.
'He knows therapy will be a lot of work and he is ready to do it. He is starting to move left fingertips and working on right hip and upper leg.'
'He knows therapy will be a lot of work and he is ready to do it. He is starting to move left fingertips and working on right hip and upper leg,' wrote injured officer Carlos Yanez Jr.'s sister, Nicole Yanez, in an August 22 update on her brother's condition
Known to his family as 'CJ,' Yanez's GoFundMe money will also go to his son, who was born with a condition called craniosynostosis. The child has undergone multiple cranial surgeries and needs ongoing therapy.
'He's still fighting. He's still trying to live for his son – 3-year-old son, Carlos III,' Yanez's father, Carlos Yanez Sr., said at the wake for Ella Fitzgerald on August 18.
Known to his family as 'CJ,' Yanez's GoFundMe money will also go to his son, who was born with a condition called craniosynostosis. The child has undergone multiple cranial surgeries and needs ongoing therapy.
The difficult road ahead of Yanez is not only physical - he is fighting to stay positive, his sister said, and mourning the loss of his partner.
At one point, Nicole wrote, she heard her brother murmuring 'get better for both of us.'
Carol Yanez Sr., the father of cop who survived shooting that killed Ella French, speaks during her wake on August 18 and said people in attendance 'will never forget Ella or the other officers who came before her or my son. But the people will because they don't feel the pain we feel'
'He asked specifically about Blas and French and was informed of what happened - no details but that Ella didn't make it,' Nicole wrote on August 17.
'It was really hard but we were advised ahead of time by a clinician to be honest.'
'Carlos thinks about Ella French and in waves it hits him,' she wrote the next day. 'He is grieving for her family. He is sad for her dog.'
The pair were both assigned to a special 'Community Safety Team' organized by Brown.
Yanez Sr., blamed embattled mayor Lori Lightfoot for his son's injuries and his partner's death, saying her police reforms prohibit cops from drawing their weapons until it's too late.
'She wants police to fight with a hand tied behind their backs, and you can't fight evil crime, brute force, with one hand tied behind their backs,' said Yanez Sr.
Evidence from prosecutors showed that neither French nor Yanez Jr. drew their weapons before they were shot.
Yanez Sr. said his son had little choice but to keep his weapon holstered, calling it one of many policy changes that embolden criminals and rendering police sitting ducks, according to the The Chicago-Sun Times.
'There wasn't a day that I didn't draw my weapon, have it behind my leg or behind my thigh,' Yanez Sr. told the paper.
Officer Ella French was the first female police officer to be killed in Chicago since 1988, and the first officer killed during Lightfoot's tenure
Over a thousand people attended Ella French's wake on August 18, which included first responders, civilians and fellow officers from around the state
Chicago police officers gather to remember Ella French, who was shot and killed in the line of duty, during her wake on August 18
The mayor's police reforms haven't made a dent in the Windy City's skyrocketing crime numbers.
Data from August showed murders in the city were nearly the same as the number reported last year, but shootings increased by 15 percent. Chicago Police Department said there were 105 homicides recorded in July.
Yanez Sr. told the Chicago Sun Times that his son doesn't want to see the mayor because Yanez is 'no fan' to 'put it mildly.'
MailOnline was unable to contact Yanez Sr. on Facebook.
On August 18, his family put out a video of him moving from his hospital bed to thank supporters for 'your donations and your prayers' in an emotional video which shows him recuperating in a hospital bed.
'I love you all', he says. 'To my son CJ and my wife Brenda, I do this all for you', he adds before blowing air kisses towards the camera.
Yanez was shot multiple times in the face and shoulder after he and partner French approached a car during what-appeared-to-be a routine traffic stop.
Eric Morgan is pictured moments before the fatal shooting in police body cam footage
One of the suspects was seen on video running from the scene as local residents chased them down
'Monte Morgan exited that vehicle with a drink in one hand and a cell phone in the other. He refused repeated instructions to set those items down,' said Risa Lanier, Interim First Assistant State's Attorney, Fox 32 reported.
'He began physically jerking his arms away from those officers.'
Morgan then pulled a .22 caliber handgun on the officers and fired several shots towards the pair, hitting French in the head and Yanez in the right eye and shoulder.
'Defendant Monte Morgan fired multiple shots, striking both Officer French and Victim 2. After being fired upon and struck, Officer French and Victim 2 both fell to the ground between the stopped car and the curb,' Lanier said.
French and Yanez had their guns holstered the 'entire time' during the incident, prosecutors said.
Most of Yanez Jr.'s face and eye socket were fractured during the shooting. He received surgical treatment to repair it.
'We remain hopeful for a miraculous recovery but have to prepare for what's to come,' the GoFundMe page says.
Meanwhile, over a thousand people - including first responders and civilians from all over the state - attended French's wake at St. Rita Cascia Shrine Chapel Wednesday.
Yanez Sr. spoke during the wake and said people in attendance 'will never forget Ella or the other officers who came before her or my son.'
'But the people will because they don't feel the pain we feel.'
Mario Ponce and Abel Mercado, who both worked with French when she was a Cook County sheriff's correctional officer, told The Chicago Sun Times that were heartbroken to have to visit one of their own at such a young age.
'You could feel the energy from her just looking down on law enforcement and other first responders,' Ponce told the paper.
'It was a sad moment, but it was good to see everyone come together as one to support not only her, but her family.'
Emonte has been connected to an unsolved hit-and-run case from April in which a walker was struck in a crosswalk and sent flying against a stop sign.
According to ABC 7, Morgan didn't stop driving until he struck a parked car nearly a mile and a half away.
He was freed on a personal recognizance bond in the wake of the hit and run - despite being on probation for a 2019 robbery conviction at the time.
French's death was the first fatal shooting of a Chicago officer in the line of duty since 2018 and the first female officer fatally shot on the job in 33 years.
She was one of 10 people killed and 64 wounded by gun violence in the city last weekend. Chicago police union boss John Catanzara told Fox News that Lightfoot had to shoulder some of the blame for French's death due to the city's soft stance on crime.
Lightfoot also was criticized for incorrectly referring to French as 'Ella Franks' and siding with First Deputy Police Supt. Eric Carter in dismissing a traditional bagpipe service for French outside the medical examiner's office.
Carter allegedly demanded that the ambulance carrying French go directly into the medical examiner's office without stopping for the ritual, saying, 'We don't have 20 minutes for this s**t.'