Kansas City police detective on trial for manslaughter takes stand, recounts shooting

It took nine seconds from the time Eric DeValkenaere arrived at the front yard of the house on College Avenue to the moment he pulled the trigger on his handgun, firing four times in rapid succession and fatally wounding Cameron Lamb.

DeValkenaere was indicted by a Jackson County grand jury for first-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in the Dec. 3, 2019, killing at 4154 College Ave.

Choking back tears, DeValkenaere on Wednesday described how he shot Lamb, who he said had pointed his gun at his partner Troy Schwalm after the two arrived at the residence to investigate a red pickup that had earlier chased a purple Ford Mustang. Officers in a police helicopter spotted the truck driven by Lamb and followed the vehicle, police said.

DeValkenaere testified that he had no other option than to shoot Lamb who he believed pointed a gun at his partner.

“I can’t let this happen. This can’t happen,” DeValkenaere said as he recalled what he was thinking at the time of the shooting. “I can’t let this happen.”

DeValkenaere took the witness stand in his own defense on the third day of the criminal trial before Circuit Court Judge J. Dale Youngs.

Moments before the shooting, DeValkenaere said he saw Lamb reach with his left hand for a handgun from his waistband and point towards Schwalm. He said Lamb kept the handgun between his legs as his hands were positioned on the steering wheel.

“My focus moves from that weapon to the center of his chest,” DeValkenaere said. “I bring my weapon and drive it towards him. And as I acquire the front sight, I discharge a round to his center mass.”

DeValkenaere said he then retreated back and to the left of the house for cover and discharged three more shots at Lamb. Two of the bullets struck Lamb in the chest and the leg. He died at the scene.

At that time DeValkenaere said he wasn’t aware if Schwalm had been shot. He also said that he would not have opened fire had Lamb followed commands to keep his hands up and not point his weapon at Schwalm.

When asked by his defense attorney, Molly Hastings, if DeValkenaere believed that he saved Schwalm’s life that day, he responded: “Yes.”

Schwalm has previously stated, according to prosecutors, that there was no gun in Lamb’s left hand.

During the hour-long testimony on Wednesday, DeValkenaere explained what led up to the shooting but said the situation was potentially dangerous.

DeValkenaere denied planting evidence, having any other officer alter evidence or change their report of the shooting.

DeValkenaere and Schwalm were members of a violent offender squad who were tasked with preventing and interfering with violent crimes before they occurred. DeValkenaere said he had a duty to go to the backyard of the residence after they received word that the pickup had been involved in the chase.

Under cross examination, DeValkenaere acknowledged that he had no prior knowledge that Lamb was armed or had committed a crime.

DeValkenaere said that Lamb drove past him in the parking lot of a corner market shortly before the shooting and even though he knew about the earlier car chase, he made no effort to pull Lamb over and ask about the earlier car chase.

Instead, DeValkenaere said he allowed Lamb to drive away.

“I don’t know what all of the crimes that had been committed,” DeValkenaere told assistant Jackson County prosecutor Tim Dollar.

DeValkenaere told Dollar that he had made no attempt to de-escalate before he confronted Lamb as he backed the pickup into the garage.

According to prosecutors, when Lamb pulled into his driveway, DeValkenaere and another detective, Schwalm, arrived at the home to investigate the crash. The detectives walked onto the property, with DeValkenaere knocking over a barbecue grill and a car hood to get to the backyard.

Prosecutors have maintained that neither detective had a legal right to be on the property. They did not a search warrant nor did they have probable cause to be there.

Roberta Merritt, who lived with Lamb and his girlfriend and was sitting on the porch, said she did not give the detectives permission to enter — nor did they ask for it, according to court records.

Police investigating the shooting found Lamb inside the vehicle with his left arm and head hanging out of the driver’s side window. On the ground near his left hand was a handgun, according to police.

Medical records show that Lamb is right-handed and he did not have full use of his left hand as a result of an injury sustained in 2015, according to prosecutors.

Phone records, according to the affidavit, and a voicemail recording recovered by prosecutors showed Lamb made a phone call about the time he was shot. That call went to voicemail, and a recording of the immediate aftermath of the shooting was created.

Dollar then played a video recording where DeValkenaere said: “Nobody at this scene when we arrived here. The lady in the pink was telling us that the Mustang had been over here prior.”

DeValkenaere had previously told investigators that he only asked Merritt who was in the truck that was in the backyard when he and Schwalm arrived.

The bench trial is expected to continue on Friday when additional defense witnesses are scheduled to testify and closing arguments will be given.

This story was originally published November 10, 2021 at 1:24 PM.

Glenn E. Rice

The Kansas City Star

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Glenn E. Rice is an investigative reporter who focuses on law enforcement and the legal system. He has been with The Star since 1988. In 2020 Rice helped investigate discrimination and structural racism that went unchecked for decades inside the Kansas City Fire Department.