KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A panel of judges heard oral arguments Tuesday over whether to uphold or overturn the convictions of a former Kansas City police detective who in 2019 fatally shot a Black man.
Eric DeValkenaere, who is white, was sentenced to six years in prison after he was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in the killing of 26-year-old Cameron Lamb, who was shot while in his pickup truck at his home.
The first Kansas City officer to be convicted in the death of a Black man, DeValkenaere is asking judges at the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, in downtown Kansas City, to overturn his convictions. He remains free on bond while appealing.
At Tuesday’s hearing, the three-judge panel questioned DeValkenaere’s attorneys’ version of events. The judges questioned that Lamb was armed, as DeValkenaere’s lawyers suggested, and whether DeValkenaere and his partner had established probable cause to enter onto Lamb’s property, where DeValkenaere shot Lamb while he was in his pickup truck.
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Jonathan Laurans, the defense attorney for DeValkenaere, said there were 11 legal and factual errors in the trial court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law.
Among them, Laurans said the trial court was wrong in finding that the officers had no legal reason or probable cause to enter onto Lamb’s property. Laurans said there was videotape that showed Lamb committed several traffic crimes.
The most blatant occurred when Lamb sped past another vehicle at a traffic light, “turning into cross traffic both ways,†he said. “That probable cause justifies not only an arrest, but certainly if you can arrest, you can detain, you can stop.â€
Laurans said DeValkenaere was justified to shoot Lamb because he was protecting his partner Troy Schwalm.
“I ask you to do the right thing and reverse,†he told the judges. “This man did not commit any crime, this man, Eric DeValkenaere. He deserves this court’s reversal.â€
In a rare legal move, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has 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.
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker, whose office prosecuted DeValkenaere, called Bailey’s decision not to support the guilty verdict “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.
Shaun Mackelprang, a lawyer for the attorney general’s office, suggested Tuesday that once Lamb backed into his garage, he got out of his truck and retrieved a handgun.
“It is conceivable that when he drove back to the house and got out of the vehicle and had some interactions and moved around, that he picked up the gun,†Mackelprang said.
But the judges said that video captured from a police helicopter refuted that claim.
Ben Cox, an assistant Jackson County prosecutor, argued that the Circuit Court was correct in its verdict and that DeValkenaere and his partner, Schwalm, had no legal reason to be on Lamb’s property. There was no evidence to support the defense attorney’s claim that Lamb was armed and pointed a handgun at Schwalm at the time of the shooting, Cox said.
“The appellant was criminally negligent that day and Cameron Lamb died as a result,†he said. “Ever since that day, the appellant’s version of the facts, and the legal justification have been changing. But neither the true facts or the applicable law has changed.
“The appellant unreasonably entered that property, he did so unlawfully... he unreasonably drew his weapon, and he unreasonably escalated a situation that had previously been de-escalated. He shot an unarmed man in his home.â€
DeValkenaere was not present at the hearing, which lasted just over 52 minutes. The appeals court will issue a ruling at a later date.
Before the hearing, supporters of Lamb’s family held a rally outside of the courthouse, where they called for DeValkenaere to “pay for his crimes.â€
On the sidewalk outside the courthouse, someone spray painted the words: “Arrest DeValkenaere.â€
Judge convicted DeValkenaere
On Dec. 3, 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 to return home.
Meanwhile, DeValkenaere and another plainclothes detective, Schwalm, had been alerted by a police helicopter about the chase. The two, who were members of the Kansas City Police Department’s Violent Offenders Squad, arrived at Lamb’s home and tried to arrest him as he was backing his pickup truck down a sloped driveway in his garage.
Nine seconds after they arrived, DeValkenaere shot and killed Lamb. DeValkenaere later said he opened fire after Lamb pointed a handgun at Schwalm.
Police found Lamb inside the truck with his left arm and head hanging out of the driver’s side window. A gun was found on the ground near Lamb’s left hand, police said at the time.
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 when he killed Lamb. His conduct during the shooting was “reckless†and violated the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. They alleged the detectives, who were in plainclothes, did not ask for permission to walk onto the property and did not have a warrant
Prosecutors also said the crime scene was staged and police planted the 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, prosecutors said.
DeValkenaere was found guilty at a bench trial by Jackson County Circuit Court Presiding Judge J. Dale Youngs. The detectives did not have a search warrant or consent to be on the property, he said.
In court filings, Bailey’s office said the evidence did not support the verdict. Bailey’s office argued DeValkenaere “did not act with criminal negligence†and that he reasonably shot Lamb to protect his partner.
The move was unusual, considering the Missouri attorney general’s office’s history of defending criminal convictions. The office under then-Attorney General Eric Schmitt, for example, aggressively fought Baker’s efforts in 2021 to free an innocent man from prison.
Following oral arguments, Baker’s office said in a written statement, “Today we asked the Court to uphold the rule of law — just as we have in countless other cases. We will await respectfully the Court’s decision.â€
Since DeValkenaere was convicted, there have been multiple efforts to lobby Missouri Gov. Mike Parson to pardon the former detective. However, Parson has said he would not consider a pardon while the case is under appeal.