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Honoring Our Heroes
ELLA-VATED CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29
bers and partners confirmed that she was committed to doing 30 years on the job, that she truly did love putting the uniform on every day, that she not only wanted to protect the community, but believed everybody in it could be kind to each other.
“She was a beautiful person,” added Sergeant Tom Dorng, who supervised her on certain shifts working community safety. “She liked going out there and being the police.”
Rising star
At Ella’s funeral service, Cardinal Blase Cupich segued from the gospel to extolling Ella almost seamlessly. Perhaps such a righ- teous individual was truly ordained to be a police officer.
Cardinal Cupich seemed to be reading from the police officer training manual when describing Ella. Or what should be in the manual.
“We know her as a woman of empathy for the sufferings of oth- ers, humble enough to know she could always improve and gen- erous to the point of dedicating her life to making a difference in the world,” Cardinal Cupich described.
During the first three years of her law enforcement career, Ella worked for Cook County Sheriff’s Corrections. Getting to know the prisoners she guarded allowed Ella to build a rich understanding of humanity, about how to connect with them, skills that would become unique assets when patrolling the streets of Chicago.
It’s hard to fully capture her compassion, but it would show up with subtle but lasting acts such as baking cinnamon rolls to bring to the station on a regular basis. Or coming back from an extended break and reminding fellow officers how much getting some rest and relaxation would help them better serve the com- munity.
Elyse Rodriguez remembers Ella being one of the first officers to come up to her when she started in 010. Ella’s welcoming na- ture showcased some her most important virtues as the police.
“There was not a mean bone in her body,” Rodriguez com- mented. “She was the one to keep it light. The rest of us could be in a bad mood, and as soon as she came in, the room would change.”
Noah Clark went to the academy with Ella in 2018 when there were thousands of recruits going through. Parking was impossi- ble to find. There were not enough lockers, so everybody had to carry all their books and gear around with them. Everybody was just trying to get through the six months.
“Ella was on it all the time,” Clark recalled. “She was very, very smart.”
The first squad leader, Ella made study guides for everybody.
Her drive came from helping everybody in the class score high marks.
“She made sure we all stayed together and motivated,” Clark added. “She was eager to shine, but ultimately she was more con- cerned for the group. It didn’t matter what kind of obstacle it was, she helped everybody get it done.”
When Ella went through the corrections academy, her class- mates recalled how instructors tried to test her toughness.
“They pushed her and pushed her, but she wouldn’t break,” Cook County Sheriff’s Deputy Alex Walls noted. “And the way she took charge in the jail, prisoners gave her mad respect.”
With how she had it going on, wouldn’t it have been great to ride in a beat car with Ella, at least for one night. Officer Joshua Blas rode with Ella as her partner in 010 and then with the CST. He was in the car the night of the incident, and we all know about his heroics that night.
He revealed there were many nights when Ella would want to chase a stray dog, assuming it was homeless, and bring it to a shelter. One night in the 11th District, they found a puppy that Ella took home and became her beloved companion, Bella.
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