On Tuesday, the Missouri Supreme Court announced they would not review the conviction of a former Kansas City police officer in the shooting death of a black man.
After the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, confirmed Eric J. DeValkenaere’s conviction in the 2019 killing of 26-year-old Cameron Lamb, he asked that his case be sent to the Missouri Supreme Court for review.
It was DeValkenaere’s wish for the Supreme Court to overturn his sentence.
The Supreme Court also turned down Andrew Bailey’s request to move the case to another court for review.
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said in a statement Tuesday that the decision by the Missouri Supreme Court to not move the DeValkenaere decision for the Supreme Court’s review was not a surprise. “We are thankful that this case has been given the full force of the law.”
DeValkenaere, a white 45-year-old man, was found guilty in Jackson County in 2021 of second-degree involuntary murder and unlawful use of a weapon. Six years in jail were given to him.
In a very unusual move, a Jackson County judge let DeValkenaere stay free on bond for almost two years while he kept his case going.
At the Missouri Court of Appeals in October, a panel of three judges upheld the conviction. DeValkenaere was then taken into custody right away. DeValkenaere is the first police officer in Kansas City to be found guilty of killing a black man.
DeValkenaere will stay in jail because of the decision made on Tuesday. Officials from the Missouri Department of Corrections say that DeValkenaere has been sent to a jail outside of Missouri.
Laurie Bey, Lamb’s mother, said she was truly shocked and filled with joy by the court’s ruling. She
Bey said, “It’s been a long road, but I am so thankful that my son’s life was recognized.”
She said that the choice says a lot.
This lets DeValkenaere’s family know, and it also lets Cameron Lamb’s family know that their son should still be here today, she said.
Supporters of DeValkenaere should see this as proof that “he killed an innocent man for no reason at all,” she said.
His family has asked Gov. Mike Parson for clemency, and he is now deciding whether to commute the term or grant the pardon.
Mayor Gwen Grant of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City said, “This is great news!”” This decision backs up what the Appellate Court said. “I’m worried that the governor will either free DeValkenaere from his term or change it. That would be an unfair act of justice.
A spokesman for the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, Mike Mansur, said that DeValkenaere will have 90 days to file a post-conviction review case with either the trial court or the U.S. Supreme Court.
Judge Finds Devalkenaere Guilty
Testimony at DeValkenaere’s 2021 trial said that Lamb got into a fight with his lover on December 13, 2019, and it got physical. Lamb’s girlfriend once ran away, and he followed her in his truck. He got a call from a friend during the chase and went back home.
At the same time, a police helicopter told DeValkenaere and another officer in plain clothes, Troy Schwalm, about the chase. When they got to Lamb’s house, they tried to arrest him while he was backing his pickup truck down the sloping path to his garage.
DeValkenaere shot and killed Lamb nine seconds after he got there. Later, DeValkenaere said that he shot Lamb because he pointed a gun at his partner.
A grand jury in Jackson County charged DeValkenaere in June 2020.
At the trial, the prosecutors said that DeValkenaere did not have permission to be on the land and that his actions during the shooting were “reckless” and violated the Fourth Amendment, which says that people cannot be searched or taken without a warrant.
Prosecutors also said that the cops set up the crime scene and put a gun there. Lamb made only a little use of his right hand before he was shot. He had his left hand on the truck’s steering wheel.
During a bench hearing, Judge J. Dale Youngs of the Jackson County Circuit Court found Jones to be guilty. They didn’t have permission or a search warrant to be on the land, he said.
Andrew Bailey, the attorney general of Missouri, did something very unusual: he pushed for DeValkenaere’s sentences to be thrown out. According to Bailey, whose office is in charge of fighting for the state, Lamb’s death was “tragic” and “did not need to happen,” but DeValkenaere had every right to use deadly force when he shot Lamb.
Baker, whose office brought charges against DeValkenaere, said Bailey’s ruling was “unprecedented” and “extremely distressing.” Because of the attorney general’s choice, no one would fight to overturn DeValkenaere’s convictions and sentence, so her office was allowed to join the appeal.
President of MORE2, Lora McDonald, said, “We are still sad about the tragic end of Cameron Lamb’s life.” He didn’t deserve to die, no matter what the KCPD, the Attorney General, or the Fraternal Order of Police did, so at least his family will know that the courts agree with them.
She said Bailey should not have gotten involved in this case and stepped in to help someone who was found guilty of killing someone.
McDonald said, “Cameron Lamb’s family should be able to rest easy knowing that the state won’t keep getting involved in this case.” ” The courts have said this many times. “There is guilt in DeValkenaere.
