White officer who fatally shot Black man shouldn’t have been in his backyard, judge rules in suit

Associated Press

A federal judge has partially sided with the family of a Black man who was fatally shot by a now-imprisoned white Kansas City, Missouri, police detective. U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips ruled Wednesday that Eric DeValkenaere violated 26-year-old Cameron Lamb’s Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure. She said DeValkenaere did this by entering Lamb’s property in 2019 without a warrant or other legal reason to be there. However, Phillips said she couldn’t issue a judgment on the excessive force claims raised in the wrongful death lawsuit. Phillips made no immediate decision on damages in the case filed against the Kansas City police board and DeValkenaere.