Chuck Adamson was a retired Chicago Police Sergeant of Detectives, an actor, scriptwriter, and television producer. He was involved in writing episodes of Miami Vice, and movies Thief, A River Runs Through It, Top Cops, The Stand, Quiz Show. He was the creator of the television Crime Stories, starring his friend and retired Chicago Police Officer Dennis Farina. He consulted on many other film projects.
I came across this video, which outlines how Heat was based on one of Adamson’s more famous cases. The video tells the story better than I or anyone else can.