PARMA, Ohio — The funeral for fallen Euclid Police Officer Jacob Derbin, who was shot and killed in the line of duty while responding to a call last Saturday, is taking place this morning.
The funeral will begin at 11 a.m. at St. Columbkille Church on Broadview Road in Parma followed by a burial at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Cuyahoga Heights.
Derbin had been with the Euclid Police Department for less than a year. The 23-year-old, who also served in the Army National Guard, was engaged to be married in July.
Derbin was responding to a disturbance call in the 300 block of East 211th Street just before 10 p.m. last Saturday. While on the scene, investigators said Derbin was ambushed by a gunman. He was struck by gunfire and taken to the hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
Communities and fellow law enforcement agencies have spent the week, which also happens to be National Police Week, remembering and honoring Derbin.
His Alma mater, Cuyahoga Heights High School, organized a candlelight vigil on Thursday where hundreds of community members honored the fallen officer and shared stories about him, including his former football coach, Al Martin.
“It’s gotten harder each day because every time you talk to someone, they share so many great stories, things you didn’t even know about Jacob,” he said. “How he met his fiancee, the things he did to help other people, everybody you talk to just has positive things to say. There’s not one person I’ve talked to in the last week that has any negative memory of Jacob at all.”
Garrett Tester knew Derbin as well as just about anybody, as they served alongside each other and were both deployed in Kuwait before Derbin joined the Euclid Police Department. Tester said Derbin made you feel invincible, that he had a big personality and that he would light up a room when he was there.
“There’s no right way to lose a friend, and I would like Jacob to be remembered not for how he lost his life but for how he lived it,” Tester said.
The Cuyahoga County Sheriff Harold Pretel wrote a statement, expressing solidarity with the Euclid Police Department following Derbin's death.
"The members of the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department stand in solidarity with the Euclid Police Department and extend our deepest condolences on the death of Police Officer Jacob Derbin," Pretel wrote. "As we embark upon Police Week, we are starkly reminded of the dangers faced by law enforcement each day. We humbly thank Euclid Police Officer Jacob Derbin for his service to our community and promise to never forget his sacrifice."
At this year’s Cleveland Police Badge Case Ceremony, the event took on extra significance as U.S. Marshal Pete Elliot paid tribute to the officers who stayed up all night Saturday to pursue Derbin’s killer.
“I’m so very proud of each and every one of them,” he said. “They would not quit until Jacob’s handcuffs were placed on that fugitive. That is a unity and a commitment of our profession. The dedication that stays forever. Constant. We will always persevere together.”
An obituary for Derbin encourages, in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to the Euclid Police Department and K-9 Fund.