We contest Kehoe’s support of DeValkenaere based on facts of the case, not wokeness | Opinion

Former Kansas City police detective Eric DeValkenaere, a convicted killer, will come home. It’s no longer a matter of if the disgraced officer will be freed from prison but only a matter of when, according to Missouri Gov.-elect Mike Kehoe.

Kehoe would like Gov. Mike Parson to do his bidding for him before Parson leaves office. And the current governor has said on record he doesn’t like where the ex-lawman is — behind bars where he should be.

But at a post-election news conference, Kehoe all but assured DeValkenaere would be a free man soon, The Star reported this week.

Kehoe campaigned on a promise to grant clemency to the ex-detective who killed Cameron Lamb, an unarmed Black man and father of three from Kansas City. Not only does Kehoe intend to back up his pledge but he said the quiet part out loud: Kehoe’s friendship with DeValkenaere and his wife Sarah and their children was way more important than the rule of law.

“I’m very sensitive to Eric’s case,” Kehoe told reporters in the wake of his election-night victory. “I would consider Sarah a good friend of my wife and I’s. I met Sarah and Eric before he was imprisoned and I would say wrongly. I believe we need to have Eric’s back. And I’ve been very vocal about saying should I succeed in running for governor, Eric DeValkenaere will be home with his family.”

Does the trauma experienced by Lamb’s three small children matter at all? Those kids lost their father — unjustly, we might add. Shall we ignore the pain of his mother, Laurie Bey, whose child was killed in a senseless shooting that never should have happened?

Nevermind any of that. DeValkenaere has friends in high places and apparently those connections are all you need to escape consequences for illegal acts committed under the color (not rule) of law.

Kehoe’s comments about his friendship with the DeValkenaere family have angered Lamb’s family, The Star reported. How could any of us blame them for being upset?

This tasteless and off-putting statement released by Kehoe’s transition team only adds insult to injury: “Any action that may be taken by Kehoe in the Governor’s Office would be due to the unjust sentencing Eric received by a woke prosecutor, not their friendship.”

Reached Tuesday, Mike Mansur, a spokesman for Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker reminded us all that judges, not prosecutors, determine how much time is given to convicted criminals.

“We’d like to correct the spokesperson for the Gov.-elect’s office: prosecutors do not sentence defendants,” Mansur wrote in a statement. “That’s the role of the judge.”

Facts of the case

There’s little doubt DeValkenaere fatally shot Lamb in the backyard of a home he rented in the 4100 block of College Avenue. DeValkenaere had no business on the property. We know this because during a 2021 bench trial, Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Dale Youngs found DeValkenaere guilty of second-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in Lamb’s death almost five years ago.

Evidence presented at trial suggests a gun found near the scene was planted. Youngs sentenced DeValkenaere to six years in prison. A state appellate court affirmed the conviction and the Missouri Supreme Court rightfully declined to take up the matter. DeValkenaere has spent about a year behind bars. He should remain there to serve out his sentence, but he won’t.

In September, during an ongoing $10 million civil rights lawsuit filed by Lamb’s family, U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips ruled DeValkenaere violated Lamb’s civil rights when DeValkenaere fatally shot him on Dec. 3, 2019.

Clemency on what basis?

The cop had no business on the property where Lamb lived without probable cause that a crime had been committed or a warrant, Phillips ruled.

So why is Kehoe so intent on allowing this convicted killer to leave prison early? We can count many instances in which high-ranking state officials such as Parson and Attorney General Andrew Bailey have denied freedom to wrongfully convicted individuals and have fought to keep them in prison for crimes evidence has shown many of them most likely didn’t commit.

Kevin Strickland comes to mind. Sandra Hemme does too. So does Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams. The list goes on.

In the DeValkenaere case, all Missourians should be sickened by this pending injustice.

This story was originally published November 12, 2024 at 1:15 PM.