County legislature passes resolution urging against DeValkenaere pardon

By Tod Palmer

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    KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KSHB) — The Jackson County Legislature passed a resolution Monday that urges Missouri Gov. Mike Parson not to pardon convicted former Kansas City, Missouri, Police Det. Eric DeValkenaere, who shot and killed Cameron Lamb nearly four years ago.

County legislators Manny Abarca IV, Jalen Anderson and Donna Peyton put forth Resolution No. 21405 — which reads, in part, that pardoning DeValkenaere “will send a dangerous precedent, and message to local law enforcement that they will not be held accountable for violent criminal acts, and further erode trust between the community, law enforcement, and our judicial system, and endanger the health and safety of our entire county.”

Lamb’s parents, Laurie and Aquil Bey, met with some legislators Monday before the resolution was introduced and passed on a 5-2 vote with one abstention and one absence.

“Justice should not be based on political party, a badge or no badge, on a color of skin,” Abarca said. “That’s not what justice is in this country, or should be. … The reality is this is justice sought, justice earned through a court process that was fair, and now we’re seeing politics play out in a potential government way. To serve and protect also means to stand accountable.”

Parson’s office reiterated his stance in a statement from Press Secretary Johnathan Shifflett: “Governor Parson has no planned pardon for Mr. DeValkenaere, especially as his case is still working through the judicial process.”

DeValkenaere shot and killed Cameron Lamb on Dec. 3, 2019, during an encounter in the backyard of a house in the 4100 block of College Avenue, where Lamb lived.

A Jackson County grand jury indicted DeValkenaere in June 2020 and he was convicted of second-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action after a four-day bench trial in November 2021, the first known conviction of a KCPD officer for shooting a Black man in the city’s history.

Jackson County Presiding Circuit Court Judge J. Dale Youngs, who found DeValkenaere guilty, handed down a six-year sentence in March 2022.

Attorneys for DeValkenaere, who was allowed to remain free during his trial, filed an appeal in October 2022.

The Missouri Attorney General’s Office slow-walked its response to that appeal before filing a brief in June 2023 that supported overturning the conviction.

The Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office stepped in to defend the appeal at a hearing Sept. 5 at the Missouri Appeals Court in downtown KCMO, where the three-judge panel heard arguments.

DeValkenaere has been allowed to remain free with the appeal pending as well.

Legislator Sean Smith, who voted no, suggested it would be “out of place” for the legislature to weigh in with DeValkenaere’s appeal still pending before the Missouri Appeals Court for Western Missouri.

Legislator Megan Marshall suggested the resolution could unduly influence the three-judge appeals court panel in abstaining.

She then refused to allow County Executive Frank White Jr. to address the legislature before the vote.

The other legislator who voted no, Jeanie Lauer, said it was “not a county issue” despite the fact that it was Jackson County’s prosecutor who secured the conviction before a Jackson County judge in a Jackson County courtroom.

Anderson called Lamb’s parents forward and read the resolution after it passed.

“This is not anti-police,” Anderson said. “It is far from it, but we have to recognize when there’s fault.”

Laurie Bey, “the proud mother of Cameron Lamb,” addressed the legislature after the reading and highlighted his generosity and kindness as a father and mechanic.

Aquil Bey said there are “a ton of good officers out there and they do a wonderful job. This guy just happened to overstep the line, and we’re just asking and praying that he be held accountable. That’s it; nothing more.”

No date has been set for the appeals court to hand down its ruling.

White issued a statement Monday evening regarding the resolution:

“I commend the Legislature for lending their collective voices to advocate for fairness, justice and equality in Jackson County. This high-profile case has understandably garnered the attention of many across the country and around the world.

I am proud to join with the majority of the County Legislature, and many others, who have asked that the Governor treat the defendant in this case the same as others. This means allowing the judicial system an opportunity to complete the appellate process before considering the possibility of a pardon.

Our community deserves peace and healing, which starts when they’re assured equal justice under the law applies to everyone, regardless of who you are.”

Jackson County Executive Frank White Jr.

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