Former Kansas City Police Officer Sentenced to 6 Years for Killing Black Man During a 2019 Traffic Incident

A former Kansas City police officer was sentenced to six years in prison on Friday for the 2019 killing of a Black man while he was on his property, according to CNN.

Eric DeValkenaere was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter back in November for the killing of 26-year-old Cameron Lamb. He was sentenced to three years for involuntary manslaughter and six years for armed criminal actions.

The judge, James Dale Youngs, ordered that the sentences be served simultaneously.

From CNN:

Laurie Bey, Lamb’s mother, called the sentence “a fair decision” during a news conference following the hearing.

“The mental pain that I deal with — that’s not going to go away,” Bey said.

“Preferably, it will shake up this police department. Shake up Kansas City,” added Lamb’s stepfather, Aqil Bey.

DeValkenaere’s attorneys previously requested that the former officer remain free after his sentencing so they can appeal the conviction he received in November, according to KSHB.

The request was granted by Judge Youngs.

More from CNN:

The fatal shooting happened on December 3, 2019, when DeValkenaere and his partner responded to a traffic incident involving a red pickup truck in Kansas City, according to the indictment.

A police helicopter had observed a red pickup truck driving, and entering a driveway at the back of a home. The officers, dressed in plain clothes and wearing police department vests, arrived at the home and entered the backyard without a legal warrant and with their guns drawn, the indictment states.

Lamb was “slowly backing” the pickup truck down a ramp into the basement garage, and DeValkenaere’s partner was on Lamb’s side of the truck and could see him when he arrived. The officers attempted to tell Lamb to stop, but it’s unclear whether he heard them, the indictment says.

DeValkenaere fired four times at Lamb, claiming he saw Lamb’s left hand reach for a gun and point it at his partner.

DeValkenaere’s partner said Lamb’s left hand was on the steering wheel the entire time with his fingers spread apart and held up his left hand with no gun in it, according to CNN.

Out of the four shots, DeValkenaere fired, two of them hit Lamb.

It was later found by investigators that there was a gun under Lamb’s left hand where the truck stopped, according to CNN.

But, Lamb was right-handed and medical records show that from a previous injury, Lamb did not have full control of his left hand.