KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Derek Chauvin’s murder conviction has provided hope to one Kansas City, Missouri, family, whose son was the victim of a fatal police shooting.
"If this is not how you're trained and you have all these professional people saying that, then to me it's like how can the verdict go any other way? It didn't take a Rhodes scholar to figure that one out," Laurie Bey said.
Chauvin was found guilty Tuesday of first- and second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in George Floyd’s May 2020 death.
Bey’s 26-year-old son, Cameron Lamb, was killed in a police shooting in 2019 in his backyard. KCPD Det. Eric DeValkenaere was charged last June with involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in connection to the shooting.
The officer pleaded not guilty to the charges.
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Bey said that watching Chauvin’s trial for the death of George Floyd unfold has been emotional.
“When you’re there and you’re watching and you’re seeing the acts of what happened to him play over and over again, all it does is it takes you back to a place to where you don’t want to be… and it’s very devastating,” Bey said.
For her own family, she said, it’s not fair that her grandchildren are being raised without their father.
“I can sit down and have a conversation and then all of a sudden I’m in tears because I’m thinking of my son,” Bey said.
While she thinks justice in Floyd's case was served, Bey said a lot more progress needs to be made.
She would still like to see more police body cameras and an end to the 48-hour waiting period for officers to provide statements after discharging a weapon, among other issues.
“I just want our loved ones, our sons, grandsons, to be treated just like they would treat their sons," Bey said, " I just pray that we will get justice in our son’s case.”
DeValkenaere has a jury trial scheduled for July 12.
Meanwhile, Aqil Bey, Lamb's stepfather, hopes his son's case receives more national attention.
“Just like you have cruel officers there, we have cruel officers here,” Aqil Bey said.
Still, he said, Chauvin’s verdict was “righteous.”
“Now we have to wait and see what happens with the sentencing,” Aqil Bey said. “Although you can’t bring George Floyd back, it did bring some attention to the way in which folks are treated.”
Aqil Bey said that people now are coming together for justice and “wanting these rogue officers off the force.”
