Missouri Supreme Court declines to review case of white KC detective who killed Black man

The Missouri Supreme Court announced Tuesday that they denied the request to review a former Kansas City police detective’s conviction in the shooting death of a Black man.

Eric J. DeValkenaere had requested his case be transferred to the Missouri Supreme Court for review after the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, upheld his conviction in the 2019 killing of 26-year-old Cameron Lamb.

DeValkenaere was seeking to have the Supreme Court overturn his conviction.

The Supreme Court also denied Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s request to transfer the case for review.

“It is not unexpected that the Missouri Supreme Court has rendered a decision to deny transfer of the DeValkenaere decision for the Supreme Court’s review,” said Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker in a statement on the decision Tuesday. “We’re grateful for the full judicial process that’s been given this case.”

DeValkenaere, 45, who is white, had been found guilty at trial in Jackson County in 2021 on charges of second-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action. He was sentenced to six years in prison.

DeValkenaere, in a rare decision by a Jackson County judge, had been allowed to remain free on bond for nearly two years while he appealed his conviction.

After a three-judge panel at the Missouri Court of Appeals upheld the conviction in October, DeValkenaere was ordered into custody immediately. DeValkenaere is the first Kansas City police officer ever convicted of killing a Black man.

As a result of Tuesday’s decision, DeValkenaere will remain in prison. Missouri Department of Corrections officials have said DeValkenaere has been transferred to another prison out of Missouri.

Lamb’s mother, Laurie Bey, said the court’s decision was a total surprise and she had tears of joy.

“It’s been a long ride, it really has been, but I am so grateful that it has been recognized that my son’s life mattered,” Bey said.

She said that the decision speaks volume.

“It lets DeValkenaere’s family know, and it is just confirmation to us — Cameron Lamb’s family, that my son should still be here today,” she said.

It should serve as confirmation to supporters of DeValkenaere that “he took an innocent man’s life for no reason at all,” she said.

The family of DeValkenaere has filed a clemency request with Gov. Mike Parson, who is weighing whether to pardon or commute the sentence.

“This is great news!” said Gwen Grant, President & CEO of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City. “This decision affirms the Appellate Court ruling. My concern is that the governor will either pardon DeValkenaere or commute his sentence. To do so would be a travesty of justice.”

DeValkenaere will have 90 days to file a post-conviction review petition to the trial court or a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court, said Mike Mansur, a spokesman for the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office.

Judge finds DeValkenaere guilty

On Dec. 13, 2019, Lamb got into an argument with his girlfriend and it became physical, according to testimony at DeValkenaere’s 2021 trial. At one point, Lamb’s girlfriend left their home and he chased her in his truck. During the chase, he got a call from a roommate and returned home.

Meanwhile, DeValkenaere and another plainclothes detective, Troy Schwalm, had been alerted by a police helicopter about the chase. The two arrived at Lamb’s home and tried to arrest him as he was backing his pickup truck down the sloped driveway to his garage.

Nine seconds after arriving, DeValkenaere shot and killed Lamb. DeValkenaere later said he opened fire after Lamb pointed a handgun at his partner.

DeValkenaere was indicted by a Jackson County grand jury in June 2020.

At trial, prosecutors said DeValkenaere did not have the legal authority to be on the property, and that his conduct during the shooting was “reckless” and violated the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures.

Prosecutors also said the crime scene was staged and police planted a gun at the scene. Before he was shot, Lamb had his left hand on the truck’s steering wheel and he had limited use of his right hand.

DeValkenaere was found guilty at a bench trial by Jackson County Circuit Court Judge J. Dale Youngs. The detectives did not have a search warrant or consent to be on the property, he said.

In a rare legal move, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey had argued for DeValkenaere’s convictions to be thrown out. Bailey, whose office is responsible for arguing on behalf of the state, said while Lamb’s death was “tragic” and “did not need to happen,” DeValkenaere reasonably used deadly force when he shot Lamb.

Baker, whose office prosecuted DeValkenaere, called Bailey’s decision “unprecedented” and “extremely distressing.” Her office was granted permission to intervene in the appeal because, with the attorney general’s decision, no one would advocate to affirm DeValkenaere’s convictions and sentence.

“We remain sad over the tragic ending of Cameron Lamb’s life,” said Lora McDonald, executive director of MORE2. “But, at least his family will have the satisfaction of knowing the courts believe he didn’t deserve to die, regardless of the actions of KCPD, the Attorney General, or the Fraternal Order of Police.”

Bailey never should have been involved in this case, intervening on behalf of someone convicted for taking a life, she said.

“Cameron Lamb’s family deserves to rest knowing that the state won’t continue to interfere in this case,” McDonald said. “The courts have spoken again and again. DeValkenaere is guilty.”