Missouri Gov. Mike Parson says that Kansas City Police Department detective Eric DeValkenaere — the only officer in the department to ever be convicted of killing a Black man — is a "tough case" for him.
DeValkenaere's family formally requested clemency with Parson's office in October, a request that's been long feared by activists and the family of Cameron Lamb, the 26-year-old that DeValkenaere fatally shot.
"It's not always about just getting a full pardon. There's lots of things you can do for that, other avenues I can take," Parson told KCUR's Up To Date. "So we're going to have everything on the table."
The Missouri Court of Appealsupheld the conviction, and said there was no evidence to prove DeValkenaere's claims. But Parson said he's waiting on movement from the Missouri Supreme Court before he'll take any action on the case.
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker, who won DeValkenaere's conviction, vocally opposes a pardon.
The governor also told Up To Date that he's aware of concerns that the Kansas City Royals and Kansas City Chiefs could cross the border to Kansas due to slow negotiations over a new baseball stadium.
"I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that we keep both those franchises in the state of Missouri from my level, from my position to be able to do that," the governor said.
Parson also discussed his soon-to-be-released biography "No Turnin' Back."
- Mike Parson, Governor of Missouri
