Former Detective Sentenced to 6 Years After Shooting and Killing a Man on His Own Property

A former police detective was sentenced on Friday to 6 years in state prison after he fatally shot a man on his own property.

Eric DeValkenaere, a Kansas City Officer, was charged in the death of 26-year-old Cameron Lamb.

Prosecutors said Lamb was chasing his girlfriend’s vehicle in a truck that was stolen. Police then tracked the truck to a Lamb’s home and confronted him in his driveway.

DeValkenaere opened fire and struck Lamb, killing him. The Detective claimed in court that he feared for the life of his fellow officer because Lamb pointed a gun at him.

Prosecutors said DeValkenaere shouldn’t have confronted the suspect on the property of his own residence without a warrant.

They also questioned police evidence and explained that Lamb had his left hand on the truck’s steering wheel and his cellphone in his right hand before the shooting.

An officer who was at the scene after the shooting also testified that there was no gun found on Lamb.

The judge who handed down the sentence, determined DeValkenaere violated the Lamb’s civil rights by going onto his property without a warrant or permission.

Demonstrators said the case was an example of yet another police killing involving a white officer and a Black man.

The mothers of Lamb’s three young sons filed a wrongful death lawsuit. The suit alleged a “continuing, widespread, persistent pattern of unconstitutional misconduct of the Kansas City Police Department.”

DeValkenaere was convicted on November 19. His last date of employment with Kansas City Police Department was January 23. Officials would not disclose the reason for the end of his employment, citing Missouri’s “sunshine law”.