CLEVELAND — Before Officer Shane Bartek joined the Cleveland Division of Police in 2019, he was a friend to Matt Dargay and Mikael Lucas — a friend they said they won’t ever forget.

“He sees someone, he talks to them and he's instantly friends with anyone that he meets,” Dargay said.

That caring nature is something the friends have always seen.  

“The two of us both went to University Cincinnati together as well, and he studied criminal justice there,” said Lucas. “So for him to say that he was going to go back home and be a police officer, it didn't take me by storm at all.”

The 25-year-old was killed while off duty on New Year's Eve during a carjacking on Cleveland's west side. 

“I see these pictures everywhere and it just doesn’t, it still doesn't feel real,” Dargay said. 

And while reality sets in that their friend is gone, they’re finding comfort in the memories, whether it was on the soccer field at Berea-Midpark High School or recalling how much he loved being a police officer. 

“It felt like the perfect calling for him, as someone who wanted to look out for their community and make everybody a better person and help them live their best life too,” Lucas said. 

The two said “Live Your Best Life” was one of Bartek’s mottos, and they’re going to make sure they do that in his memory. 

“He wouldn't want us to feel sad. He want us to continue to live and remember his name the way that he lived his life,” Lucas said.

“’I'm trying to live my life as if, what Shane would do, because he lived his life in a way that no one else has and it's awesome. He was awesome,” Dargay added. 

Bartek’s friends are partnering with the Cleveland Foundation to develop a scholarship in his name with the goal of raising $25,000.