Cleveland battles carjacking surge as city mourns slain off-duty police officer

The funeral Tuesday for a slain Cleveland, Ohio police officer killed in an off-duty carjacking on New Year's Eve pointed to a disturbing crime trend: carjackings have surged by over 50% in two years in the city. 

The end-of-year shooting punctuated a pattern seen in Cleveland and other U.S. cities, such as Minneapolis, Chicago and Oakland since the onset of the pandemic and the defund police movement.  Members of the 145th Police Academy along with members of CDP and the community gathered together for a memorial run for their fallen classmate Shane Bartek #18. P.O. Cody Ratliff #375 who is currently stationed in Iraq also found a way to participate with his 145th classmates. (Cleveland Police) Members of the 145th Police Academy along with members of CDP and the community gathered together for a memorial run for their fallen classmate Shane Bartek #18. (Cleveland Police) Members of the 145th Police Academy along with members of CDP and the community gathered together for a memorial run for their fallen classmate Shane Bartek #18. (Cleveland Police ) Cleveland Police Officer Shane Bartek, 25, was shot and killed during an off-duty carjacking attempt New Year's Eve.  (Cleveland Police) Members of the 145th Police Academy along with members of CDP and the community gathered together for a memorial run for their fallen classmate Shane Bartek #18. ( ) "Now we're seeing a paradigm shift where these cities that were defunding the police are now experiencing a spike in crime to include carjacking, and it's not coincidental." 

Cleveland saw at least 433 carjacking incidents in 2021, representing a 22% spike from the 355 in 2020, according to data recorded by the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office.