Mugshot/Euclid PD Deshawn Anthony Vaughn (l) and Officer Jacob Derbin (r).
Deshawn Anthony Vaughn posted mocking comments on social media about the manhunt for him following the shooting death of Euclid, Ohio, Police Officer Jacob Derbin.
That’s according to Instagram posts viewed by Heavy. Be forewarned that the posts are disturbing due to the subject matter.
Vaughn, 24, was named as the now-deceased suspect in a media release by the Euclid Police Department in Ohio. A photo in the media release matches one on Vaughn’s Instagram page.
Vaughn was found deceased in a Shaker Heights, Ohio, apartment building on May 12, according to Cleveland19, which confirmed that Vaughn “was posting on his social media about the shooting Saturday night and through the day Sunday.”
Tributes flowed for Derbin, who was engaged to be married in July, who was the son of a police officer, and who was described as compassionate and well-trained. Those details were shared in a news conference by Euclid Police Chief Scott Meyer, who declared, “My heart absolutely breaks.” He said Derbin’s death is “absolutely disgusting, and it is affecting us all. My heart breaks.”
23 YO EUCLID OHIO POLICE OFFICER/VETERAN SHOT & KILLED. LAWLESSNESS CONTINUES. (1st photo his fiancé- 2nd his Mom) The Officer killed LODD last night is 23-year-old Jacob Derbin. He was on the job for less than two years. @Euclid_PD #murder #police #RestInPeace
The shooting death occurred around 10 p.m. on Saturday, May 11.
DeShawn Anthony Vaughn Posted the Police Media Release Revealing the Manhunt & Added Laughing Emojis
Instagram (DeShawn Vaughn)Deshawn Vaughn Instagram post.
The Instagram page in question says its owner is “Shawn,” and reads, “📍216📍boxing saved me … LLV2x.” The handle is @yea.honch2x.
Heavy saved the posts while they were still visible in Vaughn’s Instagram story.
In one post, the Instagram page shared the media release naming Vaughn as the suspect in the officer’s death and put five crying/laughing emojis over it.
In another post, he shared his mugshot with the song “Back in That Mode” by Big Homiie G.
Instagram (DeShawn Vaughn)Deshawn Vaughn social media post.
He wrote, ‘Don’t be scared now” in another post, tagging a woman’s page. In another post, he wrote, “Ayy yall don’t feel weird page watchin?? Like at least follow a n**** to watch every story n don’t follow mean I’m on yo mind a whole lot. Hmmmmm wat is he doin now.” He filled the caption with laughing/crying emojis.
Instagram (DeShawn Vaughn)DeShawn Vaughn.
Another post said, “Laugh now… n please please laugh later. Please” with more laughing/crying emojis. “This shall be a fun Mother’s Day,” read another post.
DeShawn Vaughn ‘Ambushed’ Euclid Police Officer Jacob Derbin, Authorities Say
🚨 Ohio Blue Alert Issued 🚨
Manhunt is on for this murder suspect of fallen Euclid PD Officer last night.
👇👇👇
Meyer said in the news conference that a woman called police and reported that her child’s father had threatened to harm her and her mother.
“Officers arrived and spoke to the complainant who stated that the suspect was on foot and possibly nearby. Officers went to check the backyard and were ambushed by gunfire from the suspect,” he said.
According to the chief, police believed the suspect had fled.
The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction listed Vaughn as being a “violator at large.” His history includes a weapons offense, the website says, adding that his parole supervision began in November 2021.
According to the chief, Derbin was “critically wounded” at the scene. Officers returned fire, and Vaughn fled the scene, he says. Derbin died that evening. No other officers were injured, according to the chief.
He described Derbin as having a “kind heart” and an “enormous smile,” noting, “He will be desperately missed by all who knew him.”
He said Derbin’s father is an Euclid police officer. “This has got to end,” the chief said of violence against law enforcement officers.
Wayne Hudson, the police chief of Shaker Heights, called the officer’s death “a tear at the very fabric of our Democracy.” Shaker Heights has released few details about the death of Vaughn.
In the news conference, Meyer said the woman who called police was an “extremely terrified victim.” He described the suspect as a “very rare individual” who is “extremely dangerous and very unpredictable.”
Of Derbin, he stressed that the officer “was a 23-year-old human being.” He said he could count on Derbin “every single time to do the right thing, make the right decision.” He said he was compassionate, kind, and “tactically sound.”
Meyer described Derbin as a “gentle giant” who loved public service and served in the U.S. Army Reserves. He was a “happy-go-lucky kind of a guy,” he said, who “loved being here.” He said the officer was “rare, that rare find, and, you know, I’m devastated, and his family is obviously devastated.”
He said that it was “absolutely devastating” to watch the grief of Derbin’s family members, including his grandmother. The chief added that Derbin was engaged to be married in July.
“His fiancee was there last evening,” Meyer said. He said the couple was “very excited” about the upcoming wedding and added, “I mean, he’s a young, young person planning their life. He’s somebody who did all of the right things in life.”
He described the suspect as the opposite, as “someone who did all of the wrong things in life.”
The chief declared that he was “frustrated with the criminal justice system.” He said he understood “equity” but also understood “law and order, and I respect the rule of law, and I think that’s been lost here.”
He said he believed most people in Euclid support and respect law enforcement but that some people consider it almost like their “obligation and duty to be confrontational with police.” He added that police are dealing with “illicit firearms.”
The Mother of Officer Jacob Derbin Called Him, ‘My Hero,’ Writing, ‘Oh God Help Us’
Euclid Police DepartmentOfficer Jacob Derbin.
Dawn Marie Derbin, the officer’s mother, wrote in a Facebook post,
Nothing makes sense. I don’t understand how God needed you more than us right now. This world was truly a better place with you on earth. My only peace is that Papa has you in his arms in heaven. Oh Jakey, my sweet baby boy… 😭💔 This is not fair. You had your entire life to live. I was looking forward to our mother/son dance at your wedding in 11 short weeks, I looked forward to the day you would became a daddy and my future grandkids.. Oh God help us…
Also thank you each and everyone for the tremendous outpouring support. I’m getting around to read all the messages and I promise all your words are comforting. Don’t stop praying. Please pray for us 💔
She shared a photo of him with a thin blue line sign and wrote, “my hero 💔”
The Euclid Police Department wrote a tribute to Derbin on its Facebook page on May 13.
“Officer Derbin was proudly sworn into the Euclid Police Department on July 24th, 2023. During his brief time with the department, he served the residents and business owners of Euclid, as well as his fellow Officers with dedication, honor, and professionalism,” the Euclid Police Department wrote in the post on Facebook.
“His kind heart and enormous smile were infectious. The world was a better place with him in it and he will be desperately missed by all who knew him. Officer Jacob Derbin #14, End of Watch, May 11th, 2024,” the post noted.
The Euclid Police Department wrote on its Facebook page on May 13, “We thank the public for your enormous outpouring of compassion and support. Thank you to William Sopko & Sons Co., Inc. and STAMCO Industries Inc. for your generous donation. Flowers and food are being dropped off at the department and we are so appreciative of the kindness. If you would like to do something and are not sure what, donating gift cards at this time can used by the department and family. If you donate by check, please make it payable to: ‘PAL – Police Activities League.'”