The detective was the first white Kansas City police officer since 1942 to face a criminal trial in the shooting death of a Black man.
Eric DeValkenaere, a Kansas City police detective, was found guilty Friday of manslaughter in the killing of Cameron Lamb. Lamb, a Black man, was fatally shot in his own backyard in 2019 at the age of 26. During the trial, prosecutors claimed police planted evidence. Jackson County Judge Dale Youngs issued the bench ruling against DeValkenaere,43, convicting him of second-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action. He had been charged with first-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action. The Kansas City Star reported that DeValkenaere was the first white Kansas City police officer in nearly 80 years to face a criminal trial in the shooting death of a Black man. Details of the case were laid out during the bench trial, which started on November 8.
