On October 17, 1985, Officer Ridges, assigned to North Investigations, was reviewing a series of vandalism incidents that occurred around a Prospect Heights home. While working on the case near the home, Officer Ridges noticed a car with three men inside who closely matched the physical descriptions of the offenders in the case. Officer Ridges contacted the radio room with the basic description of the vehicle and its occupants prior to curbing the car. Once stopped, all three men exited the car and while Officer Ridges was checking their identities, one man drew a concealed gun and shot Officer Ridges once in the head and once in the hand, fatally wounding him.

The offenders were caught a short time later based on Officer Ridges' original radio transmission and a telephone call to police from a citizen who witnessed the incident. It was later revealed through a police investigation that the three men were en route to commit a contract murder at the Prospect Heights home where Officer Ridges was investigating the vandalism incidents. One of the offenders confessed to police he was prepared to kill everyone present in the intended victim's home.