A federal judge approved a $4.1 million settlement between Kansas City, Missouri, police and the family of Cameron Lamb, who was shot and killed by a white police officer in 2019 while in his own driveway. This agreement brings an end to the more than six-year battle that has deeply strained the relationship between the city’s police force and its Black community.
The settlement includes no admission of guilt by either the police department or former officer Eric DeValkenaere, who in 2021 became the first Kansas City officer convicted of killing a Black man. DeValkenaere was found guilty of second-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in connection to Lamb’s death.
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Eric DeValkenaere, 43 (right), was charged after 26-year-old Cameron Lamb (left) was fatally shot while sitting in his pickup truck in his own backyard on Dec. 3, 2019. (Photo: 41 Action News/YouTube screenshot)
DeValkenaere and his partner were responding to a reported altercation between Lamb, 26, and his girlfriend. The officers arrived at Lamb’s home, guns drawn, though they had no warrant. As Lamb was backing into his garage, the officers, dressed in plain clothes, confronted him. In a matter of seconds, Lamb was shot dead.
DeValkenaere claimed that Lamb had pointed a handgun at his partner. However, evidence at his trial showed that the gun had been planted, and the judge noted that the officers had unnecessarily escalated the situation.
DeValkenaere served only one year of a six-year prison sentence before outgoing Governor Mike Parson commuted his sentence in December, sparking significant backlash in Kansas City’s Black community. The 45-year-old former officer is permanently barred from holding any law enforcement position in Missouri again.
Lamb’s mother, Laurie Bey, and other family members filed a federal civil suit claiming excessive force and a violation of the Fourth Amendment, which protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures. The family originally sought more than $10 million in compensatory damages.
Of the $4.1 million settlement reached on Tuesday, nearly half will go to the family’s legal team, as reported by the Kansas City Star. Each plaintiff will receive almost $474,500 after fees, and Lamb’s father, Bobby Lamb, who wasn’t part of the lawsuit, will receive $50,000. A trust has been set up for Lamb’s three children.
Kansas City police will cover the entire settlement amount, with DeValkenaere paying nothing, according to Fox 4.
Judge Beth Phillips, in her order approving the settlement, stated, “The Parties in this lawsuit, without any admission of liability or fault in any way by any party, and in recognition of the cost and unpredictability of litigation, desire to compromise and settle all claims for injuries and/or damages related to the allegations in the lawsuit.”
Reactions within Kansas City’s Black community have been mixed.
“On one hand, I am happy for the family of Cameron Lamb, the 26-year-old Black man fatally shot by ex-Kansas City police detective Eric DeValkenaere,” wrote Toriano Porter, a member of the Kansas City Star’s editorial board, on X. “By contrast, I am equally disappointed that he and KCPD admitted no fault in this case.”
One local citizen added, “KCPD agrees to pay millions to the family of Cameron Lamb, Black man killed by white detective. This is the least amount of justice these family members deserve! They deserve a conviction, but glad that this is coming to the Lamb family!”
The settlement concludes a six-year saga that began with Lamb’s tragic death in December 2019, further deepening the rift between the Kansas City police and the Black community.
