KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A majority of the Kansas City, Missouri, City Council are urging Missouri Gov. Mike Parson not to pardon convicted former KCMO PD detective Eric DeValkenaere.
“For the sake of the safety of our Law Enforcement Officers, first responders, community members and for the sake of justice for the Lamb family and our Black communities, we urge you not to subvert the rule of law,” nine members of the 13-member City Council wrote.
LINK | Read the Letter
Council members who signed the letter: Lindsay French, Melissa Robinson, Eric Bunch, Darrell Curls, Johnathan Duncan, Melissa Patterson Hazley, Crispin Rea, Mayor Pro Tem Ryana Parks-Shaw and Andrea Bough.
Council members Kevin O’Neill, Nathan Willett and Wes Rogers did not sign the letter.
Mayor Quinton Lucas posted his thoughts separately Thursday morning.
“I will let the courts complete their work before speaking out on any potential pardon,” Lucas said on X. “I would predict the same from the Governor."
Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney Jean Peters Baker was among the first officials in calling on Parson not to pardon DeValkenaere. Eventually, civic groups and other governing bodies, including the Jackson County Legislature, adopted similar stances.
RELATED | DeValkenare timeline
Earlier this week, attorneys representing the former detective made an “informal request for clemency" to Parson's office.
A spokesperson from the governor's office said while they were in receipt of the informal request, no formal request has been made through the Missouri Parole Board.
“Clemency is at the Governor’s discretion and Governor Parson has made no decision regarding clemency for Mr. DeValkenaere at this time," the spokesperson said Tuesday.
The request came as DeValkenaere was booked first into the Platte County Detention Center and later into the Missouri Department of Corrections system after the Missouri Court of Appeals,
Western District, denied a motion to reinstate an appeal bond. Had the motion been approved, it would have allowed DeValkenaere to remain free while his legal team decided whether to appeal his conviction to the Missouri Supreme Court.
DeValkenaere shot and killed Cameron Lamb as Lamb backed a vehicle into a garage Dec. 3, 2019, at his residence in the 4100 block of College Avenue.
After a grand jury indictment in June 2020, Jackson County Circuit Court Presiding Judge J. Dale Youngs found DeValkenaere guilty of second degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action during a four-day bench trial in November 2021.
—
