KANSAS CITY, MO – The Missouri Legislative Black Caucus “vehemently opposes” Missouri Gov. Mike Parson’s decision this week to reduce a white former Kansas City police officer’s sentence to time served—about a year—rather than his full six-year sentence, according to KOMU 8 News.
In regards to the killing of 26-year-old Cameron Lamb in 2019, the caucus said Parson’s actions are undermining “the integrity of the court’s ruling and deepen(ing) mistrust in the judicial system, particularly among Black Missourians,” said KOMU 8 News.
The Missouri Legislative Black Caucus charged it is against Parson’s decision and stands with Lamb’s family, reported KOMO News.
“At trial, (Eric) DeValkenaere testified that he fired his weapon on Dec. 3, 2019, after Lamb pointed a gun at another detective, Troy Schwalm, and that he believed his actions saved his partner’s life.”
Prosecutors, however, argued that “police shouldn’t have been on the property and staged the shooting scene to support their claims that Lamb was armed,” said KOMO.
“The trial judge, Dale Youngs, said the officers had no warrant for Lamb’s arrest and had no search warrant or consent to be on the property. He called it a tragic case with troubling facts and said DeValkenaere and the officer with him escalated a situation that had been calmed. He didn’t address allegations that evidence had been planted,” reported KOMO.
The officer left the police force after his conviction but remained out of prison until he lost his appeal in October 2023. The Missouri Supreme Court subsequently declined to hear an appeal.
