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A former Kansas City detective is heading to prison

Former Kansas City Police detective Eric DeValkenaere surrendered to Platte County Sheriff's officials Tuesday after a Missouri appeals court panel affirmed his 2021 conviction for second-degree manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Cameron Lamb. It's the first case of a Kansas City officer being found guilty of killing a Black man while on duty.

Eric DeValkenaere was found guilty of second-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action by a Jackson County judge in November 2021 for killing Cameron Lamb, a 26-year-old Black man, in his driveway. In March 2022, DeValkenaere was sentenced to six years in prison.

DeValkenaere is the only Kansas City police officer convicted of killing a Black man while on duty. Nomin Ujiyediin spoke with KCUR reporter Peggy Lowe about why the court made its decision, and what happens next.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love, Anna Schmidt and KCUR Studios and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and Lisa Rodriguez.

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As a newscaster and a host of a daily news podcast, I want to deliver the most important and interesting news of the day in an engaging and easily understandable way. No matter where you live in the metro or what you’re interested in, I want you to learn something from each newscast or podcast – and maybe even give you something to talk about at the dinner table.
As an on-demand producer, I am focused on using my skills and experiences across multiple digital applications, platforms and media fields to create community focused audio, video and on-demand products for KCUR Studios. The media that I produce aims to inform, entertain and connect with the Kansas City metro area as we continue to learn from each other. Email me at byronlove@kcur.org.
Anna Schmidt is the fall 2023 intern for KCUR Studios. She recently graduated from Kansas State University, where she was the Opinions Desk Editor for the Collegian student newspaper and took over the role of podcast host. You can email her at anna.schmidt@kcur.org.
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