CLEVELAND — The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office has officially ruled homicide as the cause of death of Cleveland police officer Shane Bartek.
In its report released on Tuesday, the office stated that Bartek's death was due to a gunshot wound of the chest with vascular, visceral, and skeletal injuries.
Police say the shooting happened in the parking lot of an apartment complex in the 4300 block of Rocky River Drive around 6 p.m. on Dec. 31. Bartek was off duty at the time. He was later pronounced dead at Cleveland Clinic Fairview Hospital. The 25-year-old was a two-year veteran with the Cleveland Division of Police.
The alleged murder suspect in Bartek’s death – 18-year-old Tamara McLoyd – made her first court appearance Monday morning in which a Cleveland judge issued a $5 million bond for the charge of aggravated murder. McLoyd is due back in court next week for a preliminary hearing next week on Tuesday, Jan. 11.
“Detectives reviewed video surveillance footage, which showed Bartek being ambushed and robbed by an armed subject,” according to the complaint filed against McLoyd.
The suspect arrested in a chase connected to the death of Bartek is expected to appear in Lyndhurst Municipal Court at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday. The court hearing comes just days after Anthony Butler Jr. was arrested and held on a $5 million bond. He’s accused of leading police on a pursuit while behind the wheel of Bartek’s vehicle, which was taken after the officer was shot on New Year’s Eve.
Butler has been charged with fleeing, receiving stolen property and "numerous traffic-related charges." Dashcam video of the chase from the Richmond Heights Police Department shows Butler being taken into custody after crashing the vehicle into a fence in Euclid.
MORE COVERAGE:
- Man charged after police chase involving murdered Cleveland officer Shane Bartek's vehicle to appear in court
- Who will pay for Cleveland Officer Shane Bartek's funeral?
- WATCH | Dashcam video shows police chase and arrest of suspect after he stole and crashed off-duty Cleveland police officer, Shane Bartek's vehicle
- Cleveland police officials release name of the off-duty officer shot, killed during robbery on New Year's Eve