Here’s a recap of what led to the shooting of Cameron Lamb, trial of KCPD detective
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KCPD officer found guilty in fatal shooting of Black man
Eric DeValkenaere, a Kansas City police detective, was found guilty of manslaughter on Nov. 19, 2021, in the December 2019 killing of Cameron Lamb, a Black man who was fatally shot in his own backyard. DeValkenaere was the first white Kansas City police officer in 80 years to face a criminal trial in the shooting death of a Black man.
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It was a mere few seconds from the time a Kansas City police detective arrived, ran into the backyard of a home and fatally shot Cameron Lamb, a 26-year-old Black man, court testimony revealed.
Eric J. DeValkenaere stood trial last week after a Jackson County grand jury indicted him on charges of first-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in the Dec. 3, 2019, killing at 4154 College Ave.
At the heart of the trial was whether DeValkenaere’s actions were “reckless” and violated the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures.
On the day he was killed, Lamb had been arguing with his girlfriend. The argument became physical, and at one point they left the residence with Lamb chasing after her.
Lamb then received a call from another roommate telling him to return home.
Meanwhile, police were investigating a crash. They reported a red pickup chasing a purple Ford Mustang. Officers in a police helicopter spotted the truck driven by Lamb and followed the vehicle home.
DeValkenaere and his partner Troy Schwalm were nearby and responded. As they arrived, Lamb was backing his pickup into the garage in the rear of the house. Schwalm testified that he thought Lamb was trying to hide it following the chase.
Prosecutors alleged the detectives, who were in plainclothes, did not ask for permission to walk onto the property nor did they have a warrant.
Moreover, prosecutors alleged there was no evidence that anyone had dialed 911, that anyone was hurt or that a crime had taken place by the time they had arrived.
The detectives were members of a violent offender squad tasked with preventing and interfering with violent crimes. DeValkenaere testified that he had a duty to go to the backyard after receiving word that the pickup had been involved in the chase.
Roberta Merritt, who lived with Lamb at the white and red-brick single-family residence, testified that neither detective identified themselves as police officers or were given permission to walk onto her property.
DeValkenaere pointed his service weapon at her as he walked towards the back of the residence, she said.
“I was never asked ‘do you live here,’” Merritt testified.
DeValkenaere reportedly knocked over a barbecue grill and a car hood to get to the backyard.
Before he was shot, Lamb had his left hand on the truck’s steering wheel and his cellphone in his right hand, prosecutors said. He did not have full use of his left hand as a result of an injury sustained in 2015.
Schwalm testified he saw Lamb’s left hand on the steering wheel and he “flayed out his fingers.” He instructed Lamb to turn off the engine and get out of the pickup.
At that point Schwalm said DeValkenaere yelled, ”He’s got a gun. He’s got a gun.”
Schwalm had told investigators that Lamb was not armed, prosecutors have said. At trial, Schwalm tried to clarify by saying, “I was involved with someone who tried to kill me.”
DeValkenaere fired four gunshots in rapid succession that smashed through the front windshield and struck Lamb in the chest and upper torso. He testified he fired the shots because he saw Lamb point the weapon at his partner.
The shooting transpired within nine seconds of the detectives arriving at the front yard of the house.
Prosecutors alleged during the trial that Kansas City police staged the crime scene and even planted evidence to support their claims that Lamb was armed moments before he was shot.
Merritt testified that Lamb kept the gun found by investigators near his body on the third stair from the bottom of a stairway that led to the basement, near the garage.
Prosecutors alleged the gun was moved from a set of stairs near the garage and placed near his left hand after he was shot and before crime scene investigators arrived. Prosecutors also alleged that bullets found inside Lamb’s pockets at the Jackson County Medical Examiner’s Office had not been at the crime scene.
DeValkenaere shot Lamb to protect his partner, his attorney said. Police did not need a search warrant and did not need probable cause to go on the property because they believed that Lamb was trying to conceal a stolen pickup in the garage.
This story was originally published November 19, 2021 at 1:28 PM.
