Crime

Kansas City cop convicted in Black man’s killing is on his way to Missouri prison

Eric DeValkenaere is pictured in a booking photo at the Platte County Detention Center.
Eric DeValkenaere is pictured in a booking photo at the Platte County Detention Center. Platte County Sheriff's Office

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Eric DeValkenaere conviction

In 2021, KCPD detective Eric DeValkenaere was convicted in the fatal shooting of Cameron Lamb. It was the first time a Kansas City police officer was found guilty in the killing of a Black man.

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Former Kansas City police detective Eric J. DeValkenaere, whose conviction in the shooting death of a Black man was upheld by an appeals court last week, has been taken to a Missouri prison to begin serving his sentence.

DeValkenaere had been held in the Platte County jail since Oct. 17, after the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, upheld his conviction in the 2019 killing of Cameron Lamb.

On Wednesday he was removed from the jail for transportation to the Western Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in St. Joseph, said Karen Pojmann, a spokeswoman with the Missouri Department of Corrections.

DeValkenaere, 44, who is white, had been found guilty at trial in Jackson County in 2021 on charges of second-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action. He was sentenced to six years in prison.

In a rare decision by a Jackson County judge, DeValkenaere had been allowed to remain free on bond for nearly two years while he appealed his conviction.

Maj. Erik Holland, a spokesman for the Platte County Sheriff’s Office which operates the county jail, confirmed that DeValkenaere was no longer being held at their facility and had been transported by the department of corrections.

The Western Reception, Diagnostic & Correctional Center in St. Joseph. This Google Maps view shows the prison in May 2019.
The Western Reception, Diagnostic & Correctional Center in St. Joseph. This Google Maps view shows the prison in May 2019. Google Maps
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Glenn E. Rice
The Kansas City Star
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.
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Eric DeValkenaere conviction

In 2021, KCPD detective Eric DeValkenaere was convicted in the fatal shooting of Cameron Lamb. It was the first time a Kansas City police officer was found guilty in the killing of a Black man.