CLEVELAND — The number of police officers killed in the line of duty so far this year is up 25% from the same time last year, according to the Fraternal Order of Police. Twenty police officers have been killed this year across the nation.
As of April 30, 2024, the Fraternal Order of Police said there have been 26 ambush attacks on police officers, resulting in 34 being shot and six have been killed.
Saturday night, Euclid police officers were called to a home just before 10 o’clock for an aggravated menacing complaint. Police said the mother of Deshawn Vaughn’s child told police he threatened to hurt her and her mother.
As police were investigating, Officer Jacob Derbin was ambushed in the backyard by Vaughn, according to police.
“Many times, we find that individuals who are engaged in acts of violence with a firearm have obtained that firearm illegally or possess that firearm illegally,” said Daniel Flannery, director of the Begun Center for Violence Prevention and Research, Case Western Reserve University.
That is the case in the deadly shooting of Officer Derbin. Vaughn, a convicted felon, was not legally allowed to own or carry a gun, yet he had one.
The 23-year-old was sworn in last July as a Euclid Police Officer, following in his father’s footsteps to protect and serve. He was supposed to be married in a little more than two months.
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