The suspect in the fatal shooting of a Euclid police officer is found dead after a standoff in Shaker Heights

EUCLID, Ohio – A first-year Euclid police officer in his 20s was shot and killed Saturday night in what authorities are calling an “ambush” after officers responded to a threatening complaint at a home.

Late Sunday afternoon, the suspect was found dead after a standoff with police at a Shaker Heights apartment building on Van Aken Boulevard, authorities said.

A U.S. Marshall’s Office official who announced the suspect’s death did not answer a question about whether the suspect died of a self-inflicted wound. Gunshots and apparent explosions were heard from witnesses outside the building.

The deceased officer was identified as Jacob Derbin, 23, who had been with the force for less than a year. Euclid Police Chief Scott Meyer said Derbin’s father is also a member of the police force.

“His kind heart and huge smile were contagious,” Derbin told media late Sunday. “The world was a better place with him. He will be sadly missed by all who knew him.”

Meyer said police were called to a residence on East 211th Street by a woman who said the father of her child and her mother had been threatened just before 10 p.m. Saturday.

She reported to officers that the suspect fled before police arrived. Police entered the backyard and were “assumed by gunfire,” Meyer said. Derbin later died in a hospital. No other officers were injured, Meyer said.

During the late afternoon news conference, Euclid, Shaker Heights authorities and the U.S. Marshal’s office provided few details about what happened at the Shaker Heights apartment building.

The suspect found dead in the residence was Deshawn Anthony Vaughn, 24, said Pete Elliott, U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Ohio.

Earlier Saturday, the attorney general’s office released photos of Vaughn as part of a Blue Alert showing that he was at large and that the vehicle involved was a white Volkswagen Passat.

Vaughn has an extensive file, a spokesman for the attorney general said, but could not provide details.

Cuyahoga County court records list a Deshawn Vaughn, of Euclid and the same age, who pleaded guilty in 2021 to receiving stolen property and possessing weapons under disability. He was sentenced to nine months in prison.

The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction said that Vaughn was wanted for violating the terms of his supervision and warned on its website: “This person should be considered dangerous and possibly armed.” Do not attempt to arrest this person. Call your local law enforcement agency or 911.”

Dawn Marie Derbin, Jacob’s mother, shared a photo of her son on her Facebook page with the caption “my hero” alongside a broken heart emoji.

“It is a cruel irony,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in a news release, “that a mother lost her son on Mother’s Day and that this murder occurred just as we were preparing to protect our fallen during the 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 Kent State University Police, a spokesman for Yost said. He was sworn into the Euclid Police Department on July 23, less than a year ago.

Gov. Mike DeWine ordered U.S. and Ohio flags flying in all public buildings and grounds throughout Cuyahoga County, as well as the Ohio Statehouse, Vern Riffe Center and Rhodes State Office Tower in Columbus until sunset on Day The funeral should be hoisted with half a crew.

“We are grappling with deep sadness and disbelief following the tragic loss of our dedicated public servant,” Euclid Mayor Kirsten Holzheimer Gail said in a prepared statement.

“This moment requires that we come together as a community in solidarity and support, not only to honor a hero who selflessly served and protected us, but also to give strength to one another in this time of grief.”

Derbin was engaged and planned to get married this summer, Chief Meyer said.

cleveland.com reporter Megan Sims And Molly Walsh and photographer John Kuntz contributed to this story.