Euclid Police Officer Jacob Derbin was fatally shot in an ambush while answering a disturbance call on the night of May 11. The 23-year-old had joined the police force 10 months earlier and was engaged to marry his high-school sweetheart in July.
His death occurred on the eve of Police Memorial Week and nine days after Ohio’s law enforcement community and Attorney General Dave Yost officially honored officers who had died in the line of duty in 2023.
“My heart burns with anger at this injustice,” Yost said.
At about 10 p.m., Derbin and two other officers responded to 911 call from a woman who said she was at her grandmother’s house and that her ex-boyfriend, her child’s father, was lurking outside and texting that he would kill her. The woman told police that the man was probably nearby and asked them to check the backyard.
When Derbin did, the suspect, Deshawn Vaughn, ambushed him, Euclid Police Chief Scott Meyer said. Despite his injuries, Derbin managed to warn his fellow officers about the suspect’s location — the “work of a hero,” Meyer said.
Officers returned fire, but Vaughn fled on foot.
After an intense manhunt involving multiple agencies, Vaughn was tracked the next day to a building in Shaker Heights, where he eventually killed himself following a lengthy standoff.
Vaughn had a lengthy criminal history, including convictions for felonious assault, receiving stolen property, and having weapons under disability.
Derbin’s father is a Euclid police officer, and his grandfather was on the police force in Brooklyn Heights, where Derbin grew up.
Meyer said Derbin will be awarded his agency’s highest honor, the Euclid Police Department Medal of Honor.