Missouri Gov. Mike Parson granted the request for the release of former Kansas City Police Detective Eric DeValkenaere on Friday, fulfilling the long-standing pleas of his family.
Parson, who has had his fair share of controversial pardons, announced the decision alongside a list of 16 pardons and eight additional commutations.
The family of Cameron Lamb, the 26-year-old Black man killed by DeValkenaere, had long feared this action. Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker, who secured the conviction, also shared these concerns.
In her statement, Baker expressed her desire to prioritize the care of Lamb’s family and offered a brief comment.
“DeValkenaere killed an unarmed man, plain and simple,” Baker’s statement asserts. “The governor exhibited remarkable leniency in his case, while the victims received no such compassion.”
In June 2023, Baker cautioned the governor against granting the pardon, and since then, she has frequently been questioned about the potentiality of it. On December 16, during an interview with KCUR, she expressed her belief that such an action would convey the idea that certain individuals are given preferential treatment in the justice system.
In the words of Baker, it is cowardice for government officials to make decisions without consulting the families of the victims and the Kansas City community. He strongly believes that such decisions should never be taken lightly and should involve the input of those who have been directly affected.
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Parson history of pardons
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Melesa Johnson, the newly elected Jackson County prosecutor, expressed her frustration and disappointment regarding the potential pardon of DeValkenaere. She stated that such a decision would be unfortunate for the community.
According to Johnson, the governor holds significant authority when it comes to issuing pardons. He suggests that future governors should consider granting freedom to individuals like Kevin Strickland, who spent forty years in prison for a triple murder in 1978 that he claims he did not commit. Fortunately, Strickland was finally released in late 2021.
Baker’s office made significant efforts to advocate for Strickland’s release. However, Parson declined to grant him a pardon, stating in 2021 that addressing Strickland’s clemency application was not a priority due to a substantial backlog.
Johnson urged the next administration to consider using their pardoning power when cases like Kevin Strickland’s arise. Instead of subjecting the prosecutor’s office to a lengthy and arduous battle to prove his innocence, Johnson suggested that they contemplate pardoning individuals like Strickland, who have devoted their entire lives to a crime they did not commit.
Governor Parson has been no stranger to making controversial decisions when it comes to offering clemency. One recent example of this was on March 1, when he commuted the sentence of Britt Reid, a former assistant coach for the Kansas City Chiefs and the son of head coach Andy Reid. Reid had been convicted of driving while intoxicated and causing a serious accident that left a 5-year-old girl with severe injuries.
In July 2021, Mark McCloskey and Patricia McCloskey, a Republican couple, were pardoned by Parson. The couple had brandished weapons at Black Lives Matter activists in their upscale neighborhood. Both Mark and Patricia, who are Republicans themselves, had pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges and were subsequently fined. They claimed that they had acted in self-defense against a violent mob in June 2020 by pointing an AR-style rifle and a pistol at the demonstrators who were marching towards the mayor’s residence.
In the past three years, state public records reveal that Parson has granted clemency to over 600 individuals, surpassing the number of pardons given by any Missouri governor since the 1940s.
A commutation does not have the same extent as a pardon. While a commutation shortens the length of a sentence, a pardon is an official forgiveness for a crime. Furthermore, a pardon also removes restrictions on rights, such as gun ownership and employment opportunities.
DeValkenaere’s wife, Sarah, has been leading a public campaign to seek Parson’s pardon. In multiple posts on X this month, she passionately referred to her husband as a “hero” who deserves to be reunited with his family this Christmas.
In a heartfelt message, she expressed how much her children longed for his presence during the holiday season. “My kids are deeply saddened by his absence,” she penned. “It is during this time that he should be here, celebrating with us.”
Courts found detective culpable
DeValkenaere, aged 45, became the first Kansas City police officer to be convicted of killing a Black man. In November 2021, Jackson County Judge Dale Youngs found him guilty of second-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action. Following the conviction, DeValkenaere was sentenced to six years in prison by Judge Youngs in March 2022.
During the appeal, DeValkenaere’s legal team argued before a three-judge panel that Lamb was armed, despite prosecutors claiming otherwise. They emphasized that DeValkenaere genuinely believed that the safety of another officer was at risk, leading to his fear in the situation.
In an opinion released on October 17, Appellate Court Judge Thomas Chapman emphasized the importance of viewing evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict. He stated that DeValkenaere was unable to provide any evidence to challenge Youngs’ earlier decision, thus upholding it.
In December 2019, Lamb lost his life when the police pursued him onto his property. According to law enforcement, he was involved in a high-speed chase with another vehicle, had multiple traffic violations, and had reportedly harmed a woman prior to the incident.
The courts determined that Lamb did not have a gun when the shooting occurred. Furthermore, it was deemed that DeValkenaere’s entry onto Lamb’s property was unlawful, and his actions were not driven by self-defense or the defense of the other officer. In reality, as Chapman stated, the officers were “two uninvited men, in the backyard of a stranger, and were approaching with guns in their hands.”
According to Chapman, the evidence presented suggests that Devalkenaere shot Lamb when Lamb was unarmed and not posing a threat.
Local control of police long been an issue
Parsons’ decision is bound to spark renewed demands for a revamp in the KCPD’s association with the state. KCPD stands as the sole police department in the United States that remains under state jurisdiction, a relic of the Civil War era when the state took charge of the police departments in St. Louis and Kansas City.
In 1932, Kansas City had approved a home-rule ordinance. However, due to the rampant corruption within the police department under the influence of political boss Tom Pendergast, the department was brought back under state control in 1939 by the Missouri governor, who appointed his own commissioners.
In 2013, the topic of local control in Missouri came to a head. St. Louis successfully obtained the authority to establish its own police force following the approval of a statewide ballot measure. In the same year, a task force led by former Kansas City Mayor Sly James narrowly decided against pursuing a shift towards local control.
In a public letter sent in June 2023, Baker cautioned Parson about the potential consequences of pardoning DeValkenaere. He emphasized that such an action could lead to civil unrest and further undermine the public’s faith in the criminal justice system.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey added fuel to the political fire surrounding the case by taking the side of DeValkenaere and asserting that the conviction should be overturned. Bailey raised significant questions about the authority and privileges bestowed upon the police, emphasizing the need for a closer examination of DeValkenaere’s situation.
