A federal judge has partially sided with the family of a Black man who was fatally shot by a now-imprisoned white Kansas City, Missouri, police detective, ruling that the officer should not have entered the man’s backyard.
U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips ruled Wednesday that Eric DeValkenaere violated 26-year-old Cameron Lamb’s Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure by entering his property in 2019 without a warrant or other legal reason to be there.
However, Phillips declined to issue a summary judgment on the family’s claim that the ensuing shooting amounted to excessive force, and made no immediate decision on any damages in the wrongful death case filed against the Kansas City police board and DeValkenaere.
John Coyle, an attorney for Lamb’s family, said they hope the ruling will force the police board to “recognize this tragedy and do right by Cameron’s family.”
DeValkenaere is now serving a six-year sentence after he was convicted in 2021 of involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in the case, which has divided activists and Republican lawmakers.
The shooting happened as Lamb returned home after chasing his girlfriend’s convertible. Lamb was backing into a detached garage in the backyard when DeValkenaere and another detective, Troy Schwalm, arrived.
Phillips, who relied heavily on evidence presented in the criminal case, noted that Lamb kicked over a barricade to get into the backyard and had no legal reason to be there.
DeValkenaere testified at his trial that he fired after Lamb pointed a gun at Schwalm and that he believed his actions saved his partner’s life.
But Phillips noted that Schwalm said he never saw a gun. At the criminal trial, prosecutors argued that police staged the shooting scene to support their claims that Lamb was armed.
Phillips said that factual dispute prevents her from granting summary judgment on the issue of excessive force. A summary judgment is issued without a full trial and granted when the facts aren’t in dispute.
Lamb’s name was often invoked during racial injustice protests in Kansas City in 2020.
DeValkenaere left the police force after his conviction but remained free on bond until losing his appeal in October 2023. The Missouri Supreme Court subsequently declined to hear an appeal.
A Kansas City police spokesman said the department doesn’t comment on pending litigation.
DeValkenaere had the backing of Republican Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, whose office asked the appeals court to reverse his conviction or order a new trial. That was unusual because the attorney general’s office typically defends convictions, rather than appeals them.
DeValkenaere’s wife, Sarah DeValkenaere, often uses social media to urge followers to request a pardon. Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, a former Polk County sheriff, acknowledged the pressure in an interview in August on KCMO Talk Radio.
“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. I’ll leave it at that. But you know, I don’t like where he’s at. I’ll just say that,” Parson said.
Parson didn’t run for reelection because state law bars him from seeking another term. But in the GOP race to determine his replacement, all three major candidates either promised to release DeValkenaere or vowed a close review of his request for clemency.