KCPD must compensate family of unarmed man killed by ex-police Det. DeValkenaere | Opinion
Just this week, a federal judge ruled former Kansas City Police Detective Eric DeValkenaere violated Cameron Lamb’s civil rights when DeValkenaere fatally shot the Kansas City man almost five years ago. But we already knew this because evidence presented at DeValkenaere’s 2021 bench trial clearly showed the ex-lawman entered the property where Lamb lived without a warrant.
U.S. District Judge Beth Phllips’ recent ruling that DeValkenaere isn’t entitled to qualified immunity because he violated Lamb’s Fourth Amendment right should not be overlooked or taken lightly. It’s not everyday that a police officer’s qualified immunity claim is rejected. More often than not, qualified immunity shields a government employee from civil liability.
But not in this case. Phillip’s ruling opens the door for Lamb’s family to collect on a $10 million civil lawsuit they filed in June 2021 against DeValkenaere and the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners.
DeValkenaere could appeal Phillip’s decision. He shouldn’t. And the Kansas City Police Board should do what’s right and settle this case with Lamb’s mother, Laurie Bey, and his three children and their mothers. Each of them deserve to be compensated for their loss.
“It’s an important day for Lamb’s family,” Bey’s attorney David Smith said Thursday. “It’s an important day for the community.”
The Kansas City Police Department declined to comment on the case, according to The Star’s Katie Moore. Attempts to reach DeValkenaere’s attorney for comment were unsuccessful, Moore reported.
In her ruling, Phillips wrote compensatory damages were pending.
Citing an appeals court ruling, Phillips wrote: “DeValkenaere was not lawfully present on Lamb’s property.”
According to court documents, DeValkenaere kicked over a barricade to enter the backyard, which was illegal.
“Thus, the uncontroverted facts demonstrate DeValkenaere accessed the property via means not accessible to the public, in that he bypassed and removed barricades intended to prevent people from coming into the backyard,” Phillips wrote.
There is precedent for a settlement. In May 2019, Kansas City Police Officer Dylan Pifer fatally shot 30-year-old Terrence Bridges, an unarmed Black man.
Bridges was shot and killed after officers responded to a reported carjacking in the 7000 block of Bellefontaine Avenue. But the Chicago native was unarmed. Three years later, Bridges’ family settled a civil lawsuit with the Kansas City Police Board for $5 million.
In this case, Phillips’ ruling affirmed DeValkenaere had no legal right to enter the backyard of a home Lamb lived in the 4100 block of College Avenue without a warrant or probable cause a crime had been committed. If not for the ex-lawman’s negligence, the 26-year-old Lamb would most likely still be alive.
Under the Fourth Amendment, we all are protected from illegal searches and seizures. Within seconds of encountering Lamb in December 2019, DeValkenaere shot him dead while Lamb backed his pickup truck into a garage, according to court records.
DeValkenaere fatally shot Lamb through the windshield, court records indicate. Lamb was not armed, according to Jackson County prosecutors.
Someone may want to remind Missouri Gov. Mike Parson of some of these important details. The Republican governor, a former Polk County Sheriff, is seriously considering a clemency petition DeValkenaere’s family filed on his behalf. In the name of justice, and law and order, Parson should not ignore rulings at the local, state and federal level that found the former detective’s actions culpable in Lamb’s death.
In an email, Johnathan Shiflett, a spokesman for Parson, wrote: “Governor Parson has made no decision regarding clemency for Mr. DeValkenaere at this time.”
Yet, last month, Parson told local KCMO Talk Radio host Pete Mundo he did not like where DeValkenaere was.
“There’s not a week that goes by that somebody’s not reaching out to me about that issue and we’re going to see what happens here before long,” Parson said. “I’ll leave it at that.”
At every step of this legal process, the judicial system worked as it should.
In June 2020, a Jackson County grand jury indicted DeValkenaere on charges of first-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action. During a bench trial in November 2021, Jackson County Circuit Court Judge J. Dale Youngs found the former police detective guilty of second-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action for killing Lamb.
Later, the Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed DeValkenaere’s conviction and six-year prison sentence and the Missouri Supreme Court refused to hear the case.
In America, we have three separate branches of government for a reason. As governor, Parson has considerable executive power to commute DeValkenaere’s prison sentence. But the judicial process that played out in this case should not be forgotten.
No one is above the law. Not even a former white policeman convicted of killing an unarmed Black man.
This story was originally published September 20, 2024 at 10:57 AM.
