Will Missouri Gov. Parson free ex-KC cop Eric DeValkenaere? ‘I don’t like where he’s at’

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson edged closer to saying he will release or shorten the prison sentence of the first Kansas City police officer ever convicted of killing a Black man, signaling in recent comments his disapproval of the former detective’s incarceration.

Parson, a Republican in the final months of his time in office, came close to promising a commutation or pardon for KCPD Det. Eric DeValkenaere in a radio interview last week. The comments are the furthest the governor, a former Polk County sheriff, has gone in telegraphing that he plans to take action in the case — an explosive decision that would provoke outrage in Kansas City.

“There’s not a week that goes by that somebody’s not reaching out to me about that issue and we’re going to see what happens here before long. I’ll leave it at that. But you know, I don’t like where he’s at. I’ll just say that,” Parson said on KCMO Talk Radio on Friday.

Asked by host Pete Mundo to clarify his final words, Parson said, “I don’t like where he’s at right now.”

DeValkenaere was found guilty at trial in Jackson County in 2021 on charges of second-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in the killing of 26-year-old Cameron Lamb. DeValkenaere is currently serving a six-year sentence after shooting Lamb as Lamb was backing his pickup truck into his garage.

DeValkenaere is believed to be in custody in an out-of-state prison, after previously being held in state prison in Fulton. The Missouri Supreme Court has declined to overturn his convictions, leaving commutation and pardon by the governor as his only viable option to leave prison.

“The fact that Governor Parson is even considering a pardon or commutation of sentence for Eric DeValkenaere, a police officer convicted of killing an unarmed Black man, Cameron Lamb, is a glaring example of the double standards that plague our justice system,” Gwen Grant, president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City, said in an email.

Grant contrasted Parson’s potential action for DeValkenaere with the lack of pardon for Kevin Strickland, who spent 43 years in prison for murders he didn’t commit. Parson’s comments send a “chilling message” that law enforcement officers are held to a lower standard of accountability than the general population, she said.

The people of Kansas City deserve a justice system that holds everyone equally accountable, Grant said, adding that “we cannot and will not accept a system where those in power are above the law.”

“Our justice system should not operate with a two-tiered standard — one for police officers and another for everyone else. Equal justice under the law is not just an ideal; it is a necessity for a fair and just society,” Grant said. “Governor Parson’s actions, or even the suggestion of such actions, undermine the trust in our legal system and perpetuate the very injustices that people of color have fought against for generations.”

Parson has previously laid the groundwork to extend clemency to DeValkenaere. Last fall the governor, who has cast himself as a staunch supporter of law enforcement, criticized the case brought by Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker, a Democrat who chose not to run for reelection.

At the time, Parson said he had not yet made a decision and called it “one of the toughest issues that’s really on my desk.” He said what bothered him most about the case was the “accusation she was making about guilt or innocence without actually even knowing the facts herself,” Parson said then, referring to Baker.

By contrast, Parson on Friday sounded resolved to act and appeared to frame the issue as a matter of timing. The apparent decision comes after sustained pressure from DeValkenaere’s wife, Sarah DeValkenaere, who regularly urges her social media followers to reach out to Parson’s office in support of her husband.

“Come on Missourians we must show we #backtheblue! I need my husband home and so do his kids. We must right this terrible wrong,” Sarah DeValkenaere posted on X after the interview.

Clemency timing

The Missouri Constitution gives Parson the power to delay, reduce or eliminate the punishment of state-level crimes. A full commutation would allow DeValkenaere to be released from prison while a partial commutation would reduce the terms of his sentence.

Clemency for DeValkenaere emerged as an issue in the Republican race for governor. All three major candidates either promised to release him or vowed a close review of his request for clemency.

The winner of the Republican primary, Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, has said DeValkenaere “needs to be home with his kids, not in prison.” Kehoe’s campaign has also said he “has a long history of supporting the DeValkenaere family and has already been on the record for being in support of bringing Eric home to his wife and children.”

Parson may be reluctant to issue a decision before the Nov. 5 election. A commutation in the weeks before the election would be politically explosive. Given both Parson’s past support of Kehoe’s candidacy and Kehoe’s own statements about DeValkenaere, Democrats would likely attempt to link the lieutenant governor to the action.

Missouri House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, the Democratic nominee for governor, previously criticized another Republican candidate for promising to free DeValkenaere, saying that politicians should be focusing on issues such as building the economy and supporting working families.

The former KCPD detective has maintained his innocence following his conviction on charges of second-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in 2021. He remained free while he appealed his sentence, but reported to prison after the Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed his conviction in October.

Parson has used the clemency power far more than his modern predecessors, issuing more than 600 pardons in the past three years – more than any other Missouri governor since the 1940s, according to the Associated Press.

DeValkanaere’s family made a formal clemency request with Parson’s office in October.