I-Team: Officer killed in line of duty sparks action

Ed Gallek
·2 min read
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MIDDLEBURG HEIGHTS, Ohio (WJW) — The FOX 8 I-Team has found complete strangers taking extraordinary steps to honor Euclid police officer Jacob Derbin, who was killed in the line of duty.

In fact, we saw angels in action before the final goodbyes for Derbin. We’ve also learned of help for his fellow officers.

Route details: Funeral procession for Officer Jacob Derbin

On Friday morning, volunteers decorated the A. Ripepi & Sons Funeral Home hours before visitation. Mary Jo Graves and her sisters took time to get the flags and ribbons just right, despite a steady rain.

The sisters come from a law enforcement family, and they didn’t think twice about doing something for a fallen officer.

“Very small sacrifice to come out here and do this. It’s not even a sacrifice. It’s an honor,” Mary Jo Graves said.

“He gave his life for people he doesn’t even know,” she said of Derbin. “So, what better way to honor his sacrifice than to give him a hero’s sendoff?”

We found more angels taking action at the Euclid Police Department. This week, Euclid police got a visit from a volunteer group started by a handful of retired Cleveland officers. They offer counseling to police. Here, they’re making sure Derbin’s fellow officers can talk about their pain and keep their focus when they’re fighting crime on the streets.

In the meantime, we found angels in action in Cleveland’s inner city, including community leader Yvonne Pointer.

Decades ago, she had to overcome great pain when her daughter was murdered. Yet, she has worked to help so many others. Now, she has been working to pull together donations of food for Euclid police, with the help of Billy Sharp and five McDonald’s restaurants.

“I think we need to do something for Euclid,” Pointer said. “Evil can only prevail when good people do nothing. That’s what our message is.”\

Mother, fiancée, friends honor fallen officer Jacob Derbin during candlelight vigil

Investigators have said Derbin responded to a call for domestic trouble, and a gunman ambushed and shot him. Police said the gunman took his own life the next day.

This week, Derbin’s mother told the I-Team she can hardly describe how grateful she is to see support for her son.

We noticed that support everywhere for Derbin, even before the last goodbyes.

“It’s not like it was only a son, and a fiancé, and a brother. It literally was an American hero that the community lost,” Graves said.

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