A first-year Euclid police officer in his 20s was shot to death Saturday night in what authorities describe as an “ambush” after officers responded to a disturbance on East 211th Street.
“While police were investigating, a gunman ambushed an officer, striking him with gunfire. The officer was transported to an area hospital but did not survive his injuries,” Euclid Mayor Kirsten Holzheimer Gail said in a statement released Sunday morning.
The officer, Jacob Derbin, was in his first year with the department, said Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, whose office was requested by Euclid to assist in the investigation.
“The killer who ambushed officer Derbin will be found and will receive the full measure of justice,” Yost said.
Police and the attorney general by Sunday afternoon did not provide further details of what led to the shooting. One resident told cleveland.com Sunday that police arrived after neighborhood residents called when they heard shots from a party. Residents of the area overnight told television station WKYC that they heard about 12 shots during the incident shortly before 10 p.m.
WKYC reporters early Sunday observed police wearing tactical gear and using drones, a helicopter and a police dog to aid search efforts for the suspect, identified as 24-year-old Deshawn Anthony Vaughn.
The Attorney General’s office released photos of Vaughn as part of a Blue Alert, saying he was at-large and identifying the vehicle involved as a white Volkswagen Passat with a temporary license plate of R947155.
Vaughn has an extensive record, a spokesman for the attorney general said, though he was unable to offer specifics.
Cuyahoga County court records list a Deshawn Vaughn of Euclid and of the same age as pleading guilty in 2021 to receiving stolen property and having weapons under a disability. He was sentenced to nine months in prison.
The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction said that this Vaughn is wanted for violating the conditions of his supervision, warning on its website: “This individual should be considered dangerous and possibly armed. Do not attempt to apprehend this individual. Call your local law enforcement agency or 911.”
Dawn Marie Derbin, Jacob’s mother, shared a photo of her son on her Facebook page captioning it “my hero” next to a broken heart emoji.
“It is a cruel irony,” Yost said, “that a mother lost her son on Mother’s Day, and that this murder happened just as we prepare to solemnize our fallen during Police Memorial Week. My heart burns with anger at this injustice, for the family of this young officer and the Euclid Police Department.”
Derbin graduated from the Kent State University police academy last year and was in his early 20s, a spokesman for Yost said.
Derbin was sworn in by the mayor in July, according to a previous Euclid Police Department social media post. Derbin’s social media showed that he had served in the military and had gotten engaged in May 2023.
Gov. Mike DeWine ordered U.S. and Ohio flags to be flown at half-staff at all public buildings and grounds throughout Cuyahoga County and at the Ohio Statehouse, the Vern Riffe Center, and the Rhodes State Office Tower in Columbus until sunset on the day of the funeral.
“In the wake of the tragic loss of our dedicated officer, we find ourselves grappling with a profound sense of sorrow and disbelief,” the mayor said her statement. “This moment calls for us as a community to come together in solidarity and support, not only to honor a hero who selflessly served and protected us, but also to offer strength to one another in this time of grief.”
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