On Dec. 3, 2019, Kansas City Police Department detective Eric J. DeValkenaere shot and killed Cameron Lamb, a 26-year-old Black man, after officers went onto Lamb’s property in Kansas City, Missouri, while investigating reports of a traffic incident involving a red pickup truck and another vehicle. The case became one of Kansas City’s most bitter police-accountability fights: a man was killed in his own backyard/garage area, a detective was later convicted, the conviction survived appeal, and Missouri’s governor eventually commuted the prison sentence.
This is not a case where the core criminal result is merely alleged. DeValkenaere was convicted in a bench trial of second-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in Lamb’s death. A Missouri appellate court later affirmed the judgment, and the Missouri Supreme Court declined to hear the case.
Reported Incident
According to the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, a grand jury indictment said DeValkenaere and Detective Troy Schwalm responded after police radio traffic about a traffic incident. A police helicopter had observed a red pickup truck being driven to the area of College Avenue in Kansas City. Prosecutors said the pickup driven by Lamb was backing into a garage when officers entered the property.
The prosecutor’s charging release said neither detective requested permission to enter the property. It also said DeValkenaere entered the backyard/garage area by knocking over objects that blocked access, while Schwalm was near the driver’s side of the pickup. The same release described sharply conflicting accounts: Schwalm said he saw Lamb’s left hand and did not see a gun in that hand, while DeValkenaere said Lamb pulled a gun and pointed it at Schwalm before DeValkenaere fired.
Source: Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office charging release.
Charges
In June 2020, a Jackson County grand jury indicted DeValkenaere on involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action. At the time the charges were filed, they were accusations, and DeValkenaere was presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The prosecutor’s office specifically noted that charges are only accusations unless the defendant is found guilty or pleads guilty.
Conviction and Sentence
In November 2021, Jackson County Circuit Judge J. Dale Youngs found DeValkenaere guilty of second-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action after a bench trial. On March 4, 2022, DeValkenaere was sentenced to three years on the involuntary manslaughter conviction and six years on the armed criminal action conviction, with the sentences running concurrently.
Source: Missouri Court of Appeals opinion via Justia.
Court Findings
The Missouri Court of Appeals summarized the trial court’s findings in blunt terms. The trial court found that the backyard, carport, driveway, and garage areas were within the protected area around the residence, that DeValkenaere and Schwalm were not lawfully present there, that they were initial aggressors, and that DeValkenaere was not acting in lawful self-defense, lawful defense of Schwalm, or lawful use of deadly force as a law enforcement officer.
The Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction on Oct. 17, 2023. AP later reported that the Missouri Supreme Court declined to hear DeValkenaere’s appeal in March 2024.
Sources: Missouri Court of Appeals opinion and AP report on Missouri Supreme Court action.
Civil Lawsuit and Federal Ruling
Separately, Lamb’s family pursued a wrongful-death civil lawsuit. KCUR reported that U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips ruled in 2024 that DeValkenaere violated Lamb’s Fourth Amendment rights by entering the property without a warrant or other legal reason. AP reported that the judge did not immediately resolve the excessive-force claim or damages, meaning that portion of the civil case was not treated as fully decided at that stage.
Sources: KCUR report on federal civil-rights ruling and AP report on the wrongful-death suit ruling.
Official Clemency Action
In December 2024, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson commuted DeValkenaere’s prison sentence to parole. AP reported that Parson did not pardon DeValkenaere; the commutation shortened the prison sentence but left him subject to parole restrictions.
Source: AP report on commutation.
Disputed and Unresolved Claims
DeValkenaere maintained that he fired because he believed Lamb pointed a gun at Schwalm. Prosecutors and Lamb’s family alleged that the scene involving the gun was staged or that a gun was planted after the shooting, but AP reported that this issue was not addressed by Judge Youngs when he convicted DeValkenaere. For that reason, this story treats the gun-staging allegation as disputed and unresolved, not as an established fact.
Why This Belongs on FuckedCops.com
A police detective entered a man’s backyard/garage area without a warrant or consent, shot him, was convicted of two felonies, and still became the subject of political pressure and eventual clemency. Whatever DeValkenaere’s supporters may argue, the courts found enough evidence to uphold the conviction. That makes this a major police-accountability case, not a rumor, not a social-media story, and not merely an internal discipline matter.
