Closing arguments heard in Kansas City police shooting case, verdict in judge’s hands
During closing arguments Friday, Jackson County prosecutors said no one, including a highly-trained Kansas City police detective with 20 years of experience, is above the law.
That detective, Eric DeValkenaere, 43, was indicted by a Jackson County grand jury for first-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in the Dec. 3, 2019 killing of Cameron Lamb, who was backing into a garage of his residence at 4154 College Ave.
Prosecutors maintained that DeValkenaere and his partner, Troy Schwalm, did not have permission to walk onto the property to investigate an earlier vehicle chase that involved Lamb and his girlfriend.
Lamb was shot after officers investigating the 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.
“No one gets to improperly create the danger and then escape the consequences of that choice,” said Jackson County assistant prosecutor Dion Sankar.
Sankar said DeValkenaere had ample time to pull over Lamb, but failed to do so. The shooting occurred within six minutes of DeValkenaere initially spotting Lamb in the parking lot of a corner market to the time he discharged his weapon.
DeValkenaere’s conduct was “reckless” and violated the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, prosecutors allege.
“No one is above the law,” Sankar said. “The state of Missouri finds it absolutely unreasonable that this defendant, a 20-year trained detective for one of the finest law enforcement agencies in this region, disregarded his department’s own policies, his own training and the law.”
DeValkenaere said that he fired after Lamb pointed a gun at Schwalm. 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.
Defense attorney Dawn Parsons said DeValkenaere shot Lamb to protect his partner.
“Eric did not want to shoot Cameron Lamb; it is the last thing he wanted to do. But he had no choice,” Parsons said during closing arguments.
“Your verdict is not about the value of Cameron Lamb’s life,” she said. “Your verdict is not a statement about the police. Your verdict is about the evidence and the law in this case.”
Parsons also said DeValkenaere did not need a search warrant and did not need probable cause to go on the property. Police believed that Lamb was trying to conceal a stolen pickup in the garage.
In that situation, Parsons said, Lamb had no reasonable expectation of privacy.
Parsons said prosecutors failed to meet the burden of proof.
“This is not a crime. This is a tragedy,” she said. “The state’s case is a series of unproven accusations, innuendos and unreasonable inferences.”
Tim Dollar, an assistant prosecutor, later used a digital stopwatch to illustrate how quickly DeValkenaere encountered and fatally shot Lamb.
Dollar said DeValkenaere’s actions that day were tragic and avoidable.
“It’s cowboys running into the back with guns drawn,” Dollar said.
“Any move anybody makes, innocent or not, you’re dead. And that can’t be the law and it can’t be what we sanction.”
Judge J. Dale Youngs has not said when he will announce a verdict.
Earlier Friday, Steven Ijames, a nationally recognized expert in police tactics, testified for the defense. He described the pursuit involving Lamb and his girlfriend as concerning and said it was appropriate for DeValkenaere and Schwalm to take action to determine whether a crime had been committed.
“They would have reasonable suspicion,” Ijames said.
The criminal trial began Monday.
Prosecutors alleged that Kansas City police officers staged the crime scene and planted evidence to support their claims that Lamb was armed moments before the shooting.
DeValkenaere took the stand Wednesday, testifying 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.”
This story was originally published November 12, 2021 at 4:27 PM.
