Ohio Police Officer Jacob Derbin was ‘gentle giant’ who ‘loved public service’

By Damon Maloney , Courtney Shaw , Drew Scofield

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    EUCLID, Ohio (WEWS) — Jacob Derbin, the 23-year-old Euclid Police officer who was killed in an ambush on Saturday night, is being remembered by those who knew him for his enormous smile and great attitude.

Euclid Police Chief Scott Meyer said Derbin has served Euclid residents since July of 2023 with “dedication, honor and professionalism. His kind heart and enormous smile were infectious. He will be missed by all who know him.”

Derbin is a veteran who served in the Army Reserves. He served a tour of duty in Kuwait. After serving in the military, he graduated from the Kent Police Academy.

“He loved public service,” Meyer said. “This is somebody who’s still in the army reserves, who’s served his country. Public service meant everything to him.”

Meyer said Derbin was tactically sound and also a “gentle giant.”

Derbin’s father is also a police officer for the city of Euclid, according to the chief.

“He was a kind of happy-go-lucky kind of a guy,” Meyer said. “He just loved public service and loved being here. He was that rare find, and I’m devastated, and his family is obviously devastated.”

He was engaged to Liv Wuebker and was supposed to get married in July.

According to a statement from St. Augustine Church in Minster, Ohio, they met as opposing teams at a state football game when he was a senior at Cuyahoga Heights High School and she was a junior on the Minster cheerleading squad.

The church statement, which was sent out Sunday, said: “They talked, dated, and eventually engaged a year ago today.”

The statement continued:

“Jacob had a strong faith and desire to have a full Catholic Mass to marry his high school sweetheart. He will have a full Catholic Funeral Mass and Christian burial with full military and police honors.

“The tragic death of Jacob is a profound loss with a future so full of hope, promise and love. Our hearts and prayers go out to the family and loved ones of Jacob and Liv.”

Meyer spoke at length about Derbin during a Sunday night news conference.

During all four years of high school, Derbin was a member of the Cuyahoga Heights football and track and field teams. Coaches and teammates referred to him by his nickname “Jake.” Al Martin is the head football coach who coached Derbin.

“Jake was always one who was easy to coach because he always came in with a good attitude,” Martin said. “People loved to be around them, and he just gave the whole team and the coaching staff a lot of energy on a daily basis.”

Debin’s spirit drove the football team. Martin remembers the offensive lineman, No. 65, as a hard worker.

“He was part of a group that helped us get to the state finals two years in a row back in his junior and senior year, and he was really a key piece of those teams,” Martin said.

“Did it surprise you that he chose a career in law enforcement?” News 5’s Damon Maloney asked Martin.

“No. I mean he’s got family members who are in that line of work, and he’s always someone who was above service and giving back,” Martin said. “He always wanted to be a police officer.”

John Shafer was Derbin’s football and track and field coach. Derbin competed in shot put and discus.

“He followed his passion and his dream and we were proud of him for it,” Shafer said.

He recalled Derbin being the number two thrower on the team but knew him beyond the classroom and sports.

“I know him as Wookie. He was a big Star Wars fan and all of his buddies used to always call him Wookie,” Shafer said.

Shafer said his oldest son and Derbin were good friends and graduated together. He said former teammates have been gathering with each other for support following Derbin’s death.

“I know that most of yesterday they were getting together and celebrating Wookie and crying and grieving together and leaning on each other to get through this senseless act,” Shafer said.

Martin said he’s comforted knowing the school community has each other’s backs during this difficult time.

“It’s really hard to process at this point. I’m having a difficult time. You know, it’s like, they’re like your kids. You know, you never expect any of them to go at that that early of an age and it’s still really difficult right now to process everything that’s happened,” Martin said.

Martin and Shafer said memories will allow them to smile as tough days come and go. Around the school, there are visual reminders of the kid they were so proud of, including a photograph Derbin took of his high school football field during a helicopter ride with his grandpa that was won in a raffle. The picture hangs on the wall of the school district’s superintendent’s office. Derbin’s signature is on the back of the photo. Martin and Shafer also have copies of it as well.

Shafer said he was looking forward to attending Derbin’s wedding this summer and being able to joke with him about how he met the love of his life. It’s said to have happened during that senior year trip to the football state finals.

“And the rumor was that he got her number after the game. And I remember always chuckling… going ‘Boy, that’s going to be a good one to talk about at the wedding’ and tragically it’s not going to happen,” Shafer said.

Flags lowered, tributes pour in Gov. Mike DeWine ordered flags lowered in honor of Derbin at all public buildings and grounds throughout Cuyahoga County, the Ohio Statehouse, the Bern Riffe Center and Rhodes State Office Tower in Columbus until sunset on the day of his funeral, the date for which has not been set yet.

Police departments, police organizations and public officials across Ohio joined in the mourning on social media, as did members of the public who expressed their grief and also offered Euclid police support.

Euclid Mayor Kirsten Holzheimer Gail released the following statement about the shooting that read, in part: “This moment calls for us, as a community, to come together in solidarity and support, not only to honor a hero who selflessly served and protected us but also to offer strength to one another in this time of grief.”

The mayor said she was grateful for the community’s support following Derbin’s death and called the officer a “wonderful young man, committed to the community, commited to service— he will be greatly missed by all.”

“Despite this horrific tragedy there is hope, and we will get through this. We really appreciate the sentiments, the thoughts, the food, the flowers, the texts and calls we have received— sharing prayers, thoughts and strength,” Holzheimer Gail said. “We will work hard together as a community to get the suspect in custody and move forward as a community. Our sympathies and heartfelt condolences to the family.”

The Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office released the following statement on Instagram:

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost pointed out: “It is a cruel irony that a mother lost her son on Mother’s Day and that this murder happened just as we prepare to solemnize our fallen during Police Memorial Week. My heart burns with anger at this injustice for the family of this young officer and the Euclid Police Department.”

Sen. J.D. Vance tweeted: “May God rest the soul of Officer Jacob Derbin, who was brutally ambushed over the weekend. He was only 23 years old.”

Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown tweeted: “Our prayers are with Officer Derbin’s family and his community in Euclid he gave his life to protect.”

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