KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The former Kansas City, Missouri, police officer who was convicted of two felonies in the death of Cameron Lamb nearly four years ago has been transported to prison.
Eric DeValkenaere had been jailed at the Platte County Detention Center since surrendering Oct. 17 after the Missouri Court of Appeals for Western Missouri affirmed his conviction, revoked his bond and issued a warrant for his arrest.
He was transferred shortly after 3 p.m. Wednesday to the Missouri Department of Corrections' Western Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in St. Joseph, a spokesperson for the department confirmed to KSHB 41 News.
Prison staff will process DeValkenaere, which will include a classification of his security-risk level and an assessment of any programs he may need while imprisoned, before determining his final placement.
He was in protective custody while jailed in Platte County, and his status as a former police officer will be considered as part of the intake, evaluation and classification process.
Depending on how many inmates are being processed, the intake process can take several weeks to complete, according to state officials.
The Western Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center includes a minimum-security prison, so it’s possible DeValkenaere could remain at the facility in St. Joe.
DeValkenaere, a former KCPD detective who started with the department in 1999, shot and killed Lamb while on duty on Dec. 3, 2019, in the 4100 block of College Avenue.
Undercover officers, including DeValkenaere, had seen Lamb chasing his ex-girlfriend in their vehicles, but no KCPD officers ever initiated a chase or made contact with Lamb before he stopped following his ex-girlfriend and went home.
As Lamb was backing into a garage behind his house, another KCPD detective first made contact with him. DeValkenaere knocked over a makeshift fence to reach the backyard on the opposite side of the house before opening fire on Lamb.
He was indicted by a grand jury in June 2020, tried and convicted during a four-day bench trial in November 2021 and a three-judge appeals panel upheld that conviction, despite attempts by the the Missouri Attorney General’s Office to sandbag the verdict.
Jackson County Circuit Court Presiding Judge J. Dale Youngs sentenced DeValkenaere to six years in prison in March 2022 but allowed him to remain free during the appeal. He has now served one week of that sentence.
DeValkenaere’s attorneys have asked the appeals court to reinstate his bond and could seek transfer to the Missouri Supreme Court. They also are seeking a pardon from Missouri Gov. Mike Parson.
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