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.”
