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Former KCPD detective violated Cameron Lamb's rights, federal court rules in wrongful death suit

An unidentified protestor in front of the Missouri Court of Appeals in downtown Kansas City on the day the court heard oral arguments in Eric DeValkenaere's appeal of his conviction in killing Cameron Lamb.
Lawrence Brooks IV
/
KCUR 89.3
An unidentified protestor in front of the Missouri Court of Appeals in downtown Kansas City in November 2023 when the court heard oral arguments in Eric DeValkenaere's appeal of his conviction in killing Cameron Lamb.

Erik DeValkenaere violated the constitutional rights of 26-year-old Cameron Lamb when he entered his backyard without any legal reason, a U.S. District judge ruled, opening the door to financial damages for the family.

A former Kansas City Police detective violated a Black man’s constitutional rights when he entered his property and fatally shot him, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, opening the door for monetary damages in the family’s wrongful death civil suit.

U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips ruled that Eric DeValkenaere, who is currently sentenced to six years in prison, violated 26-year-old Cameron Lamb’s Fourth Amendment rights when he entered his property without a warrant or other legal reasons.

The ruling came in the $10 million civil lawsuit filed in June 2021 by Lamb’s mother, former partners and children against DeValkenaere and the KCPD Board of Police Commissioners. Phillips didn’t rule on damages, saying only that they are pending.

John Coyle, an attorney for Lamb's family, said the family was grateful for the ruling "and are hopeful that this finally brings the (police) board to recognize this tragedy and do right by Cameron’s family."

DeValkenaere was found guilty of second-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action by a Jackson County judge in November 2021 for killing Lamb. In March 2022, DeValkenaere was sentenced to six years in prison, though Gov. Mike Parson has said he is considering some kind of pardon or commutation.

The Fourth Amendment question was front and center in the original state trial, and an appeals court determined that DeValekenaere kicked over a barricade to enter the backyard. A reasonable officer in DeValkenaere’s position would have known he could not go into the backyard, Phillips wrote.

“Thus, the uncontroverted facts demonstrate DeValkenaere accessed the property via means not accessible to the public, in that he bypassed and removed barricades intended to prevent people from coming into the backyard,” she wrote.

Eric DeValkenaere, center, is comforted by attorneys Dawn Parsons, left, and Holly Hastings, after Jackson County Circuit Court Judge J. Dale Youngs announced in November 2021 that he found the Kansas City Police detective guilty in the fatal shooting of Cameron Lamb.
Kansas City Star
Eric DeValkenaere, center, is comforted by attorneys Dawn Parsons, left, and Holly Hastings, after Jackson County Circuit Court Judge J. Dale Youngs announced in November 2021 that he found the Kansas City Police detective guilty in the fatal shooting of Cameron Lamb.

Phillips went further and rejected DeValkenaere’s claims of qualified immunity, a doctrine that protects state and local officials from individual liability unless the official violated a clearly established constitutional right.

KCPD doesn't "comment on pending litigation to ensure fairness to both sides," Sgt. Phillip DiMartino said.

The civil lawsuit was filed on behalf of Lamb’s mother, Laurie Bey, three former partners and their children. It claimed that KCPD had a well-documented and widespread pattern of using excessive and often deadly force, failed to train officers, and emphasized an “us-against-them” mentality over the fair enforcement of the law.

KCPD has since changed how it investigates cases where officers are accused of shooting or killing someone, and now calls in an independent law enforcement agency.

I’m a veteran investigative reporter who came up through newspapers and moved to public media. I want to give people a better understanding of the criminal justice system by focusing on its deeper issues, like institutional racism, the poverty-to-prison pipeline and police accountability. Today this beat is much different from how reporters worked it in the past. I’m telling stories about people who are building significant civil rights movements and redefining public safety. Email me at lowep@kcur.org.
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