A Missouri prosecutor asked the governor not to pardon a former Kansas City police detective sentenced to six years in a man’s killing, saying in a letter Tuesday that such a move would “subvert the rule of law” and sow distrust.
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said in a letter to Gov. Mike Parson that Eric DeValkenaere was “fairly” convicted and sentenced in the fatal shooting of Cameron Lamb, 26, at his own home in 2019 and that she was aware he had been lobbied for a pardon in the case.
“I imagine you might view a pardon as a way to support police,” she wrote. “But I expect this extreme action for the only KCPD officer convicted of fatally shooting a black man will ignite distrust, protests, and public safety concerns for citizens and for police.”
The letter did not say who had sought the pardon for DeValkenaere. His lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday night.
In the letter, Baker said the appeals process had not concluded. A pardon, she said, would pre-empt the attorney general’s defense of the conviction and “subvert the rule of law.”
"The most significant threat to public safety will not come from community protests," she wrote. "Perhaps the greater long-term harm will be an erosion of our public safety system as fair and just."
In a statement, Parson’s communications director said that if DeValkenaere applies for a pardon, his application will go through a thorough and thoughtful review and will be treated the “exact same” as other applications.
The statement accused Baker of trying to “earn political points for her re-election bid” and pointed to a prison re-entry initiative to show that Parson is “grounded in his faith and believes in second chances.”
DeValkenaere was convicted in 2021 of two charges — second-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action — and sentenced last year to six years in prison.
Lamb had been chasing his girlfriend’s convertible in an allegedly stolen pickup on Dec. 3, 2019, when authorities tracked the vehicle to Lamb’s home, where they confronted him in his driveway.
DeValkenaere said in court that he opened fire after Lamb pointed a gun at another detective.
Prosecutors challenged that evidence, saying that before Lamb was fatally shot he was holding the steering wheel with one hand and a cellphone with the other. And they said DeValkenaere shouldn’t have confronted the suspect at his own home without a warrant.
A judge found DeValkenaere guilty after a four-day bench trial.
Parson, a former sheriff, has granted 538 pardons since he was elected in 2018. Among those pardoned were Patricia and Mark McCloskey, the St. Louis couple who brandished guns at peaceful protesters in 2020.
They were charged with unlawful use of a firearm and tampering with physical evidence, both felonies. They later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges and agreed to forfeit their weapons.
