Pointing Fingers: Did Juvenile Court Judges Fail Officer Shane Bartek and His Family?

Cleveland police officer Shane Bartek, 25, who was shot and killed during a carjacking in Cleveland on Dec. 31, 2021. Courtesy of Cleveland Police Department

Questions are being asked about judges in Ohio’s Lorain County and Cuyahoga County juvenile court systems and whether they failed to perform their duties in the case of accused killer Tamara Unique McLoyd.

McLoyd’s offenses—assault, aggravated menacing, unauthorized use of a vehicle, complicity in the commission of a robbery, armed robbery, and now murder—escalated over time, according to court records. She was classified as a serious youth offender (SYO) in Lorain County Juvenile Court in 2020.