Millions paid, but no fault admitted: Ex-KCPD cop was to blame in fatal shooting | Opinion
Folks, I’m torn.
On one hand, I am happy for the family of Cameron Lamb, the 26-year-old Black man fatally shot by ex-Kansas City police detective Eric DeValkenaere. This week, Lamb’s loved ones reached a $4.1 million settlement in a federal lawsuit filed against DeValkenaere, the Kansas City Police Department and its Board of Police Commissioners.
In reaching this settlement, the family has some measure of financial relief.
By contrast, I am equally disappointed that DeValkenaere and the KCPD were let off the hook in terms of culpability. Under terms of the agreement, neither DeValkenaere or the police agency he once worked for admitted fault related to Lamb’s death.
How could this be? It is a fact that DeValkenaere fired the shots that killed Lamb in his own backyard in 2019.
I get all of the legalese and by no means do I fault the victims — Lamb’s three children and his parents will receive compensation, according to the settlement. It just doesn’t sit right with me that this former officer and the police department have been, in a sense, cleared of any wrongdoing — because that is simply not the case.
No dispute, DeValkenaere is guilty
In a 2021 bench trial, Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Dale Youngs found the former policeman guilty of involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action for killing Lamb. Youngs sentenced DeValkenaere to six years in prison. He served one year behind bars — I didn’t think he’d spend even a day locked up — before then-Gov. Mike Parson granted him clemency.
I will pause here to give credit to former Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker and her office for having the courage to bring charges in this case. As a result, DeValkenaere became the first Kansas City officer convicted of killing an unarmed Black man.
And I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the many civil rights groups and community leaders that pushed hard for DeValkenaere to face legal consequences for this reckless shooting. Lamb should not have been shot by a trigger-happy officer who fired within nine seconds of encountering Lamb in the backyard of a home he rented in the 4100 block of College Avenue.
And let’s not forget the appellate judges who upheld Youngs’ verdict and the state Supreme Court judges who refused to take up a case that was decided on facts presented in the court of law.
KCPD supported ex-detective
From the time Lamb was killed, this department publicly supported a detective who a federal judge found to have violated Lamb’s Fourth Amendment right against illegal search and seizure. And this same agency defended DeValkenaere every step of the legal process.
To be fair, DeValkenaere deserved legal representation and to have his day in court — on taxpayers’ dime, I might add.
But it would be safe to assume that DeValkenaere’s reprehensible actions that day have cost taxpayers well more than the millions Lamb’s family settled for. Yet neither he nor the police department admitted fault for Lamb’s untimely demise.
Where is the justice and accountability in that?
There is none.
This story was originally published April 23, 2025 at 2:31 PM.
