Family of KCPD cop convicted of killing Black man pleaded for meeting with Gov. Parson

After former Kansas City police detective Eric DeValkenaere was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for killing Cameron Lamb, his wife and father sent messages pleading for a meeting with Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican and longtime supporter of police.

Parson’s office also received several requests to pardon DeValkenaere, including from Michael Wells, who included “Detective kcpd” on his postal address.

Parson’s spokesperson Kelli Jones said he never met or spoke with DeValkenaere’s family after his office received the messages in late 2021 and early 2022.

But the communications, obtained by The Star through an open records request, illustrate the lengths supporters of DeValkenaere, the first Kansas City police officer convicted of killing a Black man, have gone to fight against his conviction.

They also offer a new look at the behind-the-scenes communications among Parson’s staff after Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker urged Parson not to pardon DeValkenaere. The former Kansas City detective faces six years in prison after being convicted on Nov. 19, 2021 of second-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in the December 2019 fatal shooting of Cameron Lamb.

The day after DeValkenaere was convicted on Nov. 20, 2021, his father Albert messaged Parson’s office saying that his son had been wrongfully convicted.

“I’m a retired police detective with over thirty five years of experience so I’m well versed in police procedure and I’m knowledgeable about the circumstances of the incident involving Eric,” he wrote in an email. “I’m relatively sure you are already aware of the situation and greatly appreciate the port unity to speak to you or a member of your staff regarding Eric’s situation.”

Less than a month later, in December 2021, DeValkenaere’s wife Sarah messaged Parson’s office with the subject line “CLEMENCY.” She asked to speak personally with the governor and left her cell phone number.

A member of Parson’s constituent services staff responded with information on how to file a clemency application.

Then, in Feb. 2022, Sarah DeValkenaere messaged the office again, her tone more urgent.

“I know you are very busy and this is an very unusual request, but I am begging you to give me just a few minutes of your time,” she wrote. “I need you to know what kind of man my husband is and would very much like to have the opportunity to tell you about him personally.”

She received back a constituent services email asking her to fill out an event request form. Both members of DeValkenaere’s family did not immediately respond to calls for comment Friday.

DeValkenaere has remained free on bond as he appeals the verdict.

Wells, who mentioned the KCPD in his postal address, messaged Parson’s office on June 13, requesting that DeValkenaere be pardoned. Wells said that he has known DeValkenaere for a number of years and Baker has gone out of her way to damage the police department and the relationship between the citizens and the officers.

“The city recently passed Cameron Lamb day to celebrate a criminal as a hero while they throw away the lives of a good man and his family, Wells said in an email. “I believe DeValkenaere acted legally when he shot Lamb, but I have known Eric for years and I am positive he did what he thought was right and necessary that day to protect Kansas City and Detective Schwalm.”

Sgt. Jake Becchina, a police spokesman, confirmed Friday that Wells is a KCPD detective currently assigned to the investigations bureau.

The release of the communications from Parson’s office comes nearly two weeks after Baker wrote a letter to Parson, urging him not to pardon DeValkenaere.

In the letter, Baker said she learned from multiple reports that Parson was considering pardoning the former Kansas City police detective even as an appeal works through the courts.

Earlier this week, Parson said he has legal authority to pardon DeValkenaere but had not received a clemency application from the former detective. He also criticized Baker for the letter she wrote him last week.

Behind the scenes, the letter sent by Baker appeared to catch Parson’s staff off guard, the communications obtained by The Star show.

After Parson’s office received the letter and numerous media requests asked about it, his communications team drafted a response to media organizations that criticized Baker and touted the governor’s history of granting pardons. Jones, Parson’s spokesperson, forwarded the statement to other government agencies, including the spokespeople for Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey and the Missouri Department of Public Safety.

More than five hours after receiving the letter from Baker, Aaron Willard, Parson’s chief of staff, sent her a lengthy, and scathing, email back accusing her of sending it for political reasons.

“The final bit of irony around your accusation of playing politics is that you very clearly are weaponizing this letter for your political purpose, stating you are sending it to the press and that it is an open record,” Willard wrote to Baker. “Of course, I know this Ms. Peters Baker and I also know my response is likewise going to be public, but I also hope you treat justice more fairly than this planted evidence you’ve given me one hour to respond to and good luck on your re-election bid, as I’m sure that’s what this represents.”

Baker, who announced this week she was not seeking reelection, responded roughly 30 minutes later, asking if Willard’s response meant that Parson was not considering pardoning DeValkenaere.

Nearly 30 minutes later, Willard responded: “It means you’ll get an answer, when the Governor makes a decision and it won’t be based on politics, but consistent with his record.”

DeValkenaere’s conviction for killing Lamb

On Dec. 3, 2019, Lamb got into an argument with his girlfriend, according to trial testimony. The argument became physical. At one point, Lamb’s girlfriend left their home and he chased her in his truck.

During the chase, Lamb received a phone call from his roommate to return home.

Meanwhile, DeValkenaere and his partner, Troy Schwalm, had been alerted by a police helicopter of the chase.

The two plainclothes detectives 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.

DeValkenaere fatally wounded Lamb roughly nine seconds after he and Schwalm pulled up to the residence.

DeValkenaere later said he opened fire 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.

During the trial, prosecutors said Lamb was not armed and the gun that police said he had with him had been moved from a set of stairs near the garage and placed near his left hand after he was shot but before crime scene investigators arrived.

Crime scene technicians who gathered Lamb’s belongings did not find any ammunition. But when Lamb’s body arrived at the Jackson County Medical Examiner’s Office, investigators found two bullets inside Lamb’s pockets. Those bullets had not been there at the crime scene, prosecutors said.

DeValkenaere said he did not plant evidence and did not ask or encourage any of his fellow officers to do so.

Lauren Bonds, executive director for the National Police Accountability Project, said granting a pardon to DeValkenaere would have a lasting impact on relations between law enforcement and the residents in the urban core of Kansas City.

“Granting a pardon would be a continuation of a problematic trend of the state attempting to interfere with local efforts to address policing problems,” Bonds said to The Star in an email. “The conviction in this case was a product of community decision making. A democratically elected prosecutor made the decision to pursue charges and a jury, after hearing all of the evidence, voted to convict.”

“A pardon would undermine and invalidate an important accountability measure that the people of Kansas City decided to use to address police violence in their community,” she said.