KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A judge has convicted a white Kansas City police officer of involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in the fatal shooting of a Black man in a case in which prosecutors said police planted evidence.
Jackson County Judge Dale Youngs issued the verdict Friday against Officer Eric J. DeValkenaere in the death of 26-year-old Cameron Lamb, who was parking a pickup truck in his backyard when he was shot Dec. 3, 2019.
DeValkenaere said he fired after Lamb pointed a gun at another detective.
The judge called it a tragic case with troubling facts, saying police were the initial aggressors and had a duty to retreat.
DeValkenaere will remain free on bond until he’s sentenced at a later date.
