Ex-KCPD detective convicted in killing of Black man to remain free on bond during appeal
A former Kansas City police detective found guilty in the killing of a Black man will remain free on bond while appealing his convictions, a Jackson County judge ruled Tuesday.
Judge J. Dale Youngs granted the request from attorneys for Eric DeValkenaere, who was convicted during a bench trial in November of second-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in the Dec. 3, 2019, shooting of Cameron Lamb.
The verdict marked the first time a Kansas City officer was convicted in the killing of a Black man.
DeValkenaere is set to be sentenced March 4. He could get four years in prison on the manslaughter conviction and at least three years for armed criminal action. Youngs will decide if his sentences will be served at the same time or back to back.
The ruling Tuesday means DeValkenaere will not go into custody when he is sentenced. If his appeal fails, he will then have to serve the sentence Youngs imposes.
Lamb’s mother, Laurie Bey, called the ruling “hurtful” but said her family has to accept the judge’s decision. She said her loved ones pray DeValkenaere’s convictions are affirmed during his appeal.
“My son is gone and I’m still here to ... mourn the loss of him,” she said, “and to continue to keep getting slapped in the face with things like this, it’s just not right.”
Lora McDonald, executive director of MORE2, a local social justice organization, said she could not think of another time when a person convicted of such crimes would be granted an appeal bond.
“There are laws for all of us, set by all of us, and then there are laws for law enforcement officers,” she said. “I will never understand why we as a society would want those who enforce laws to be held to a lesser standard than the general public.”
DeValkenaere fatally shot Lamb as the 26-year-old man backed his pickup truck into the garage of his home at 4154 College Ave. Prosecutors said DeValkenaere did not have consent to be on the property when he shot Lamb. They also contended at the trial that the crime scene was staged and evidence was planted.
Since he was convicted, DeValkenaere has remained free on a $30,000 bond, which was set after he was initially charged.
One of DeValkenaere’s attorneys, Molly Hastings, has said she planned to appeal his convictions, but noted that could take a considerable amount of time. She argued the danger he would face in prison is different from other defendants.
Hastings said about 200 letters were submitted to the judge on DeValkenaere’s behalf. His lawyers also sent his awards from the police department, which included one for saving a drowning child while off duty, she said.
Prosecutors pushed back against the appeal bond request, saying DeValkenaere was no different from other criminal defendants who have been found guilty.
At a January hearing, Youngs said in his 13 years as a judge, he could not remember granting a defendant such a request after they had been convicted. He said at the time that granting the request would be “unprecedented for me.”
This story was originally published February 22, 2022 at 12:55 PM.
