CLEVELAND (WJW) — A special moment at halftime of Saturday’s Cleveland Cavaliers game paid tribute to two local police officers who were killed in the line of duty earlier this year.
The families of Euclid police officer Jacob Derbin and Cleveland police officer Jamieson Ritter received special jerseys in recognition of their sacrifices, while a tribute video played on the big screen.
Derbin, 23, was shot and killed in the line of duty while responding to a disturbance at a home on May 11. The 24-year-old man suspected of killing him was later found dead, after an 18-hour manhunt.
Derbin served in the Army National Guard, which included a tour in the Middle East. He became a Euclid police officer just nine months before he was killed.
Ritter, 27, killed in the line of duty in the early hours of July 4, was a four-year veteran of the police department.
He served the National Guard with the 134th Field Artillery Regiment, before joining Cleveland police in November 2020. He and his unit deployed to Syria in 2022, according to the release. He then came back to the city police force in 2023.
