A white former detective in Missouri who shot and killed a Black man in 2019 has lost an appeal of his conviction despite unusual support from the state’s Republican attorney general, with judges on Tuesday ordering the ex-officer placed under arrest.
Eric J. DeValkenaere was found guilty in 2021 of second-degree manslaughter and armed criminal action in the death of 26-year-old Cameron Lamb. Lamb was parking a pickup truck in his Kansas City back yard when the officer shot him, after reports Lamb was in a car chase with his girlfriend. The judge who found DeValkenaere guilty in a bench trial said police were the initial aggressors and had a duty to retreat, but DeValkenaere illegally used deadly force instead.
