Listen: Mother of fallen officer has this message after son’s death
EUCLID, Ohio (WJW) — The mother of a murdered Euclid police officer shared with the Fox 8 I-Team her most personal thoughts as she gets ready to bury her son.
“There is nobody like him,” said Dawn Derbin, mother of Officer Jacob Derbin, who was shot and killed in the line of duty Saturday. “He was better here on Earth. There world was better with him here. None of this makes sense.”
Police lead procession for slain Euclid officer Jacob Derbin
Dawn Derbin said she has no idea how to survive without her son, Jacob, by her side.
“Every night he would ask me how my day was, and he really wanted to know, every day,” Derbin said. “This did not have to happen. He didn’t have a chance. He didn’t have a chance.”
Her son was ambushed Saturday night, shot to death responding to a disturbance at a home in Euclid. The victim called after the suspect said he was going to kill her and her mother. Officer Derbin went to help protect them, and ended up being shot and killed.
Instead of spending Mother’s Day with her son by her side, she sat in his truck, alone. Wishing for one more chance to see his smile and hear his laugh.
Dawn Derbin said her son idolized his grandfather who was a police officer for 27 years. He also wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps. He is also an officer in Euclid.
“It was his dream to become a police officer, he wanted to help,” Derbin said. “He also served his country first. He had his whole life. He had such a fairy tale life to live. This boy is super rare and unique. I feel blessed to be his mom.”
Jacob had planned to get married in July. He also was hoping to soon buy a house.
Meantime, court records show the suspect, Deshawn Vaughn, 24, was wanted on warrants. One of the warrants was for a shooting May 6 in Cleveland. He also had a warrant for allegedly violating parole. Vaughn was sent to prison in 2017 for four years after being convicted in Lake County Common Pleas Court of felonious assault.
Vaughn was found dead after a long standoff and exchange of gunfire with police and federal agents. U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott showed the I-Team pictures showing that Vaughn even shot law enforcement drones.
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“He had a fully automatic weapon that he shot at our people with and the robots that we sent into that place,” Elliott said.
The officer’s mother also left us with a message for everyone.
“The system needs to be better,” Dawn Derbin said. “People need to do better. Support police officers. Support your communities. Support each other as human beings.”
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