Roll of Honor

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Sergeant

Michael R. Palese

Chicago Police Department — Chicago, IL

Veteran → Accident

End of Watch March 22, 1977

Age 45

Tour of Duty 20 yrs

Badge 1514

The Vigil Panel 118 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Military Department 570

Incident

Sergeant Michael Palese was struck and killed by a train while conducting a search for a 6-year-old girl who had not come home the night before. He was searching railroad tracks near the girl's home during a period of heavy and blowing snow. He was struck by a Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad passenger train on the Roscoe Street trestle, near Kilbourn Park, as he and another officer walked across it at about 12:30 am. The girl was located at her school the following morning after staying a friend's home that night. Sergeant Palese had served with the Chicago Police Department for 20 years.

Survivors

He was survived by his son and mother.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-IL-F9D49CCA
Stewardship: Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw: August 2, 2026
Last updated: August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

20 years. You could have gone home.
Sergeant Palese gave the Chicago Police Department 20 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Chicago community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sergeant Palese.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Department Chicago Police Department

Type Police Department

Location Chicago, Cook County, IL

Platform Identity cpd.cook.il.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch March 22, 1977

Tour of Duty 20 yrs

Age 45

Badge Number 1514

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Military Service

Michael R. Palese served in the the United States military before joining law enforcement.

View full service record on salute.nw →

Sergeant Michael R. Palese is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.

In IL, 354 of 1,318 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 26.9% of this state's fallen. That is 26.9 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Chicago Police Department, 107 of 571 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 18.7% of this agency's fallen.

Chicago Police Department

107

of 571 officers

18.7% Accident

IL — Statewide

354

of 1,318 officers

26.9% Accident

Nationwide

of 97,772 officers

0% Accident