Family of Black man slain by officer sues Kansas City police

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The family of a Black man fatally shot in 2019 by a white police detective is suing Kansas City police and the officer.

The Kansas City Star reports that the lawsuit was filed Monday in federal court on behalf of 26-year-old Cameron Lamb’s four minor children.

The lawsuit accuses detective Eric DeValkenaere of violating Lamb’s civil rights when he ran onto Lamb’s property without a warrant and fatally shot Lamb as he sat in his pickup truck in his backyard.

The lawsuit seeks more than $10 million in damages against the Kansas City police board and DeValkenaere.

The suspended detective is awaiting trial on first-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in Lamb’s death. The police department declined to comment on the lawsuit.