Missouri AG seeks to throw out Kansas City cop’s conviction in killing of Black man

In a move described as “unprecedented,” Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is trying to overturn the convictions of Eric DeValkenaere, Kansas City’s first police officer to be found guilty in the killing of a Black man.

DeValkenaere, who faces a six-year prison sentence, remains free on bond as he fights convictions of involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in the killing of 26-year-old Cameron Lamb. The attorney general, whose office is responsible for arguing on behalf of the state, filed a brief outlining its legal arguments in the case being heard by the Western District Court of Appeals.

During a news conference Monday afternoon, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker called Bailey’s attempt to undo the convictions “extremely distressing,” “unfortunate” and “disappointing.”

Over recent weeks, Baker — who also sent a letter cautioning Gov. Mike Parson against taking an executive clemency action — and others have openly questioned why the attorney general’s office had yet to file its legal arguments on the case.

Baker, whose office filed a separate brief defending the convictions earlier this month, said her office will “keep fighting.”

“While I know that Kansas Citians are tough and resilient, this is a tough bit of news for them to swallow,” Baker said, adding: “I want Kansas Citians to know this: This office will keep fighting.”

The attorney general’s office filed the 67-page brief Monday, the last day to do so after a lengthy series of delays led the appeals court to issue an order saying Bailey’s office would receive no further leeway.

While calling Lamb’s death “tragic” and saying “it did not need to happen,” attorneys for the AG’s office argued in court that the appellate judges should order a discharge or a new trial for DeValkenaere.

“Here, because the evidence credited by the trial court does not, as a matter of law, support the trial court’s findings of guilt, the Court should reverse DeValkenaere’s convictions and order him discharged or order a new trial,” according to the filing.

The AG’s office also argued that “DeValkenaere’s use of force was reasonable in light of Mr. Lamb’s use of deadly force against” his partner, challenging the evidence presented at trial by prosecutors that Lamb was unarmed when he was shot.

“DeValkenaere also was not criminally negligent — both because he did not act with criminal negligence in causing Mr. Lamb’s death and because he reasonably used deadly force in defense of” his partner Troy Schwalm, the brief says.

A spokeswoman for Bailey did not immediately reply to The Star’s request seeking comment late Monday afternoon.

In written a statement Monday night, Kelli Jones, a spokeswoman for Parson, said Bailey’s legal opinion would have no impact on the governor’s decision of whether to offer executive clemency for DeValkenaere.

“If and when Governor Parson considers clemency, his thoughtful and thorough review will be based on the facts and circumstances of the individual case and independent of the actions taken by anyone else,” Jones said.

DeValkenaere’s employment with KCPD ended — police officials declined to say whether he resigned or was terminated — in January 2022 after he was found guilty of the two felonies.

Responding to a request for comment on Monday, Sgt. Jake Becchina, a KCPD spokesman, said the matter appeared to be a dispute between Baker and Bailey and there was no apparent “connection that would require a comment from KCPD.”

“Our efforts at community engagement and relationship building are undeterred,” Becchina said.

The fatal shooting of Lamb

On Dec. 3, 2019, Lamb got into an argument with his girlfriend and it became physical, according to trial testimony. At one point, Lamb’s girlfriend left their home and he chased her in his truck. During that chase, he received a call from a roommate to return home.

Meanwhile, DeValkenaere and another plainclothes detective, Schwalm, had been notified by a police helicopter of the chase. The detectives, who were members of the Violent Offenders Squad, arrived at Lamb’s home and tried to detain him as the 26-year-old was backing his pickup truck down a sloped driveway into his garage.

Roughly nine seconds after they arrived, DeValkenaere shot and killed Lamb. DeValkenaere later said he fired several shots after Lamb pointed a gun at Schwalm.

Police found Lamb inside the truck with his left arm and head hanging out of the driver’s side window. A handgun was found on the ground near Lamb’s left hand, police said at the time. DeValkenaere was indicted by a Jackson County grand jury in June 2020.

At trial, prosecutors argued DeValkenaere did not have authority to be on the property when he killed Lamb.

They also alleged the crime scene was staged and police planted the gun at the scene. Before he was shot, Lamb had his left hand on the truck’s steering wheel and his cellphone in his right hand, prosecutors said.

DeValkenaere’s legal team was granted a bench trial overseen by Youngs in 2021. In the verdict, Youngs found DeValkenaere and his partner lacked the legal authority to be on Lamb’s property.

DeValkenaere was sentenced to serve six years in prison for convictions of second-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action.

‘This action is extremely unprecedented’

Action by the attorney general to undo a conviction is incredibly rare if not completely unprecedented.

In late 2021, the attorney general’s office under Republican Eric Schmitt, now a U.S. senator, said the office works “daily to ensure that criminal convictions are upheld.”

At the time, the AG’s office said it “evaluates the facts and merits” of each case to determine whether to oppose post-conviction appeals. But the office has historically fought to defend convictions — even going so far as to say one prisoner, who was later exonerated, should be executed even if the state’s highest court found him innocent.

During the press conference organized Monday in Jackson County, Baker could not recall another instance of the attorney general’s office taking that position.

“This action is extremely unprecedented,” said Baker, who was flanked by members of staff that prosecuted the criminal case. “I can’t say in my time, 25 plus years of being here, that I’ve seen anything like this before. But here we are.”

Tim Dollar, a private attorney who assisted with DeValkenaere’s prosecution in 2021, likewise was unaware of an earlier time when the attorney general’s office took that step.

“I’ve been doing this work for 40 years. And I can just say, I’ve not been involved — in the scores and scores and scores of murder cases I’ve tried — where the attorney general came in and filed a brief seeking to reverse a conviction I obtained,” Dollar said.

David Smith, an attorney for Lamb’s family, noted Monday that Bailey was not elected but had been appointed to the role by the governor. Smith believed Bailey failed to objectively review the case but sought to score political points. Monday was the first time that Bailey’s office had been in contact with Lamb’s family.

“So it seems to me that the attorney general is trying to make police safety for all policemen across the state,” Smith said. “In other words, saying if you wear a badge, you’re above the law. And that can’t be the case. We hope the Court of Appeals decides that.”

Smith is representing the family of Lamb in a civil lawsuit filed against Kansas City police.

Also speaking Monday was Aquil Bey, Lamb’s stepfather, who appeared alongside Lamb’s mother Laurie Bey. He said it was apparent that the AG’s office was attempting a “miscarriage of justice.”

“We don’t feel good about it,” Aquil Bey said. “And so we’re gonna continue to let the legal system run its course.”

Kansas City activists alarmed by AG’s move

Police reform activists said Monday they feared the consequences of the former cop’s conviction being undone.

Lauren Bonds, executive director of the National Police Accountability Project, said Bailey’s decision on the case was “disappointing” and that it spoke to “the state of Missouri not respecting the autonomy and independence of urban cores like Kansas City and St. Louis.”

“I think this is consistent with the kind of overreach we’ve seen from the state,” she said.

Gwen Grant, president/CEO of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City, called Bailey’s actions “unconscionable.”

“Clearly, (Bailey’s) brief has everything to do with political optics and pandering to the FOP, and absolutely nothing to do with justice and upholding the letter of the law,” Grant said.

Sheryl Ferguson, an organizer with the group It’s Time 4 Justice, cautioned that overturning DeValkenaere’s convictions would “further erode trust,” saying the former cop is “not above the law and should do his time.”

“I feel very confident in saying this would not even be considered if (DeValkenaere were) Black,” Ferguson said. “Based on the climate of this country at the time of trial he waived the right to trial by jury figuring he wouldn’t be convicted, but he was.”

Rev. Vernon Howard, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, said law enforcement and the courts are responsible for upholding human and civil rights.

“Unfortunately here they are being betrayed,” Howard said. “His [Cameron Lamb’s] human and civil rights are being betrayed.”

Howard went on to say that it is unjust for anyone to come onto someone’s property and kill them.

“That would be true whatever the racial dynamic,” Howard said.

Steve Young, of the Kansas City Law Enforcement Accountability Project, said Bailey “is playing with all our lives.”

“If he fights to overturn the conviction, he is putting a bullseye on every Black and brown person,” Young said. “There will be no checks and balances for KCPD. Consider it open season against our community.”

The Star’s Luke Nozicka contributed to this report.