A former Kansas City police officer has decided to give up fighting his 2021 conviction and accept the consequences of his actions. At least that’s what appeared to happen.
On Wednesday, a day after he turned himself in to police after losing an appeal of his conviction, Eric DeValkenaere has plans to appeal his conviction again and has been freed on bond again, according to the Associated Press.
Two years ago, a Missouri judge found DeValkenaere guilty of the 2019 killing of Cameron Lamb on his own property. As a result, he was sentenced to three years for involuntary manslaughter and six years for armed criminal actions. The sentences were ordered to be served simultaneously.
The incident occurred on December 3, 2019, when DeValkenaere and his partner arrived at the scene of a traffic incident that involved a red pickup truck, which belonged to Lamb.
Allegedly, a police helicopter saw Lamb’s truck driving into the driveway at the back of a home. Dressed as civilians wearing police department vests, the pair of officers arrived at the home and entered the backyard without a warrant and their guns drawn.
While Lamb was backing his truck into his basement garage, the officers tried to tell Lamb to stop multiple times, but he appeared to not hear them. That’s when DeValkenaere fired four shots at Lamb, killing him. He claimed that he saw Lamb’s left hand reach for a gun and point it at his partner.
Shortly after he was sentenced, he stayed out on a $30,000 bond so he could appeal his conviction. But recently, he surrendered himself to police after losing the appeal of his conviction and it appeared that he was going to accept his fate and head to state prison.
But DeValkenaere’s lawyer has asked the appeals court judge to reinstate his bond so he can remain free and appeal his conviction to the Missouri Supreme Court another time.
More from the Associated Press:
Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s office supports DeValkenaere’s bond request. Bailey has played an unusual role in the former detective’s case, in June asking the appeals court to reverse DeValkenaere’s conviction or order a new trial. In Missouri, the attorney general’s office handles criminal appeals and typically defends convictions, rather than appealing them.
Rumors have swirled that Republican Missouri Gov. Mike Parson was considering pardoning or granting clemency to DeValkenaere, although on Tuesday spokesperson Johnathan Shiflett said in an email that the governor is “assessing the situation” and no decision has been reached on whether to grant a pardon.
The possibility that DeValkenaere will get off has frustrated many people in the Kansas City community, most notably the family of Lamb.
According to the Associated Press, Kansas City Law Enforcement Accountability Project founder Steve Young said during a press conference, “He has one foot in and one foot out (of jail). Who gets that kind of privilege?”