Kansas City officer found guilty in fatal shooting of Black man
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City police detective was found guilty of manslaughter in the 2019 killing of a Black man who was fatally shot in his own backyard.
Jackson County Circuit Court Judge J. Dale Youngs announced his decision Friday afternoon.
Eric DeValkenaere, 43, was charged with first-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in the Dec. 3, 2019, shooting of Cameron Lamb. He was convicted of seconddegree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action.
As people left the courtroom, family and friends of Lamb hugged and cried. Many cheered.
DeValkenaere’s family declined to comment, as did his defense attorney Molly Hastings.
Jason Johnson, president of the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund, which provided financial support for DeValkenaere’s legal defense, said the organization was shockedand disappointed.
“Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker’s politically motivated prosecution sets a dangerous precedent,” he said in a statement. “Police officers are not above the law but they are entitled to be held to the same standard as all citizens, not one based on political expediency.”
The detective was the first white Kansas City police officer in 80 years to face a criminal trial in the shooting death of a Black man.
“Justice was gotten today,” Mr. Baker said.
During the bench trial that started Nov. 8, prosecutors and defense attorneys painted starkly different pictures of DeValkenaere and the actions that transpired nearly two years ago.
Lamb, 26, was shot after officers investigating a crash reported a red pickup chasing a purple Ford Mustang. Officers in a police helicopter spotted the truck driven by Lamb and followed the vehicle.
Prosecutors said there was no evidence that anyone had dialed 911, that anyone was hurt or that a crime had taken place when DeValkenaere and another detective arrived at Lamb’s home
Lamb was fatally wounded as he was backing a pickup into his garage, prosecutors alleged, saying it took DeValkenaere nine seconds from the time he walked from the front of the residence to the back of the house before he opened fire on Lamb.
DeValkenaere’s conduct was “reckless,” prosecutors said, and violated the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures.