White Missouri officer convicted in Black man’s 2019 death

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – A judge has convicted a white Kansas City police officer of involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in the fatal shooting of a Black man in a case in which prosecutors said police planted evidence.

Jackson County Judge Dale Youngs issued the verdict Friday against Officer Eric J. DeValkenaere in the death of 26-year-old Cameron Lamb, who was parking a pickup truck in his backyard when he was shot Dec. 3, 2019.

DeValkenaere said he fired after Lamb pointed a gun at another detective.

The judge called it a tragic case with troubling facts, saying police were the initial aggressors and had a duty to retreat. DeValkenaere will remain free on bond until he’s sentenced at a later date.