Officer Shane H. Bartek
Cleveland Division of Police
End of watch: Dec. 31, 2021
Memorial Wall: Panel 19
The impact made by police officers is as likely to happen in the shadows as it is in the spotlight. A kind word. A helping hand. A gentle warning. Any such interaction might not make front-page or late-night news, but sometimes it’s enough to affect a person’s life. Officer Bartek lived to have that kind of impact.
His first partner, Officer Neil Hocking, remembers when the two stopped their car to check on a man who seemed disoriented and disturbed – a veteran, it turned out, who had become addicted to drugs and was threatening suicide.
“Shane and this guy got along well. They really connected,” Officer Hocking said. “So we were able to calm him down, reassure him and then take him to the VA hospital.”
A relationship developed that day. After being discharged from the hospital, the former Navy aircraft mechanic, grateful for Officer Bartek’s compassion, contacted him at the 5th District station to thank him for his help and concern. They exchanged cellphone numbers, and the two stayed in touch periodically for the remainder of the officer’s short life.
“That’s the perfect example of who Shane Bartek was,” Officer Hocking said. “He genuinely cared.”
Officer Bartek’s second partner, Officer Mike Wheeler, remembers how emotional the calls were at times. “The guy told Shane that he gave him hope when everyone else turned their back,” he said.
Officer Bartek, 25, was off-duty when he was killed during a carjacking at a West Side apartment complex on New Year’s Eve, just 28 months after he joined the Cleveland Division of Police.
Police said an 18-year-old woman ambushed the officer, shot him twice during a struggle for her gun, then fled in his car, which was recovered later that night after a police chase. She was arrested a short time later. The woman faces multiple charges, including aggravated murder.
City officials ruled that Officer Bartek died in the line of duty because he used his police training to try to subdue his assailant.
“Even in his last moments of life, he was brave,” said the officer’s twin sister, Summer. “I’m so proud of him. Most people in a situation like that would be scared and run away, but my brother was just a brave man, and I’ll always have so much respect for that.”
Selfless, kind and compassionate, her brother embodied the values their parents lived by, she said.
Ronald and Debra Bartek adopted Shane and Summer when they were 3, welcoming them into a loving home that included the Barteks’ son and the twins’ new brother, Eric.
“It was just fate that we were meant to be with them,” Summer said. “They raised us to be kind human beings. Our family grew up on the belief that we have to help people and go the extra mile for them. It’s in our Bartek DNA.”
True to his family’s principles, Officer Bartek was constantly extending himself. He spent time at a child-care center in the Collingwood neighborhood, where he would read to and play with kids. And his partners remember him taking time to chat with teenagers he met, occasionally even throwing a football or shooting baskets with them. One particular source of joy for Officer Bartek was Shop with a Cop, a Christmastime gift-buying program that pairs police with kids who have witnessed crimes or been victims themselves.
Another story of his kindness surfaced after the officer’s funeral, when several officers spoke of an older woman who had visited the calling hours to extend her condolences to the family. She didn’t know the officer, but somewhere in the past he had crossed paths with her grandson and took an interest in his welfare.
Officer Megan Hollenbeck, who went through the police academy with Officer Bartek and became a close friend, heard that he had called the youth on the very day the officer was killed. The grandmother wanted the family to know that.
Officer Bartek grew up in Middleburg Heights, attended Berea-Midpark High School and earned a degree from the University of Cincinnati. From an early age, he wanted to be a police officer and aspired to become a detective. He was enthusiastic about so many things – family, work, travel, wine, soccer – and his humor, charisma and concern were magnets that attracted a wide circle of friends.
Officer Hollenbeck said Shane was always laughing, always joking, but was also a good listener and confidant. More than anything else, he wanted to make a difference.
“He would tell me how much he wanted to touch other people’s lives so he could actually make an impact. And he did that. He was a cop’s cop, that’s for sure.”
At Officer Bartek’s funeral, Cleveland Chief of Police Dornat "Wayne” Drummond remembered him as a true public servant.
“I can say without a doubt that if I could create a template of what this city needs as a police officer, it would be Patrol Officer Shane Bartek.”
In addition to his mother, sister and brother, Officer Bartek left behind his grandmother, Gloria Bartek, and many extended family members and friends. His father, Ronald Bartek, died in 2018.