Michael Anthony Ceriale was a 26-year-old Chicago Police Department officer shot during an undercover narcotics surveillance operation on August 15, 1998, near the Robert Taylor Homes at 4101 South Federal Street. He and his partner were monitoring members of the Gangster Disciple gang when one member, Robert Brandt, noticed the officers and alerted Willie Hunter and Jonathan Tolliver. Tolliver ran from the building and fired the shot that struck Officer Ceriale in the abdomen below his bulletproof vest.

Officer Ceriale underwent five surgeries and received more than 200 pints of blood but died on August 21, 1998, at Cook County Hospital. The investigation produced multiple arrests: Ezra Evans was sentenced to 25 months for illegally supplying 13 guns, including the murder weapon; Brandt accepted a plea, surrendered the weapon, and received 20 years after other charges were dismissed; Hunter and George Alexander pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and received 30-year sentences each. Jonathan Tolliver’s trial ended in a hung jury.