Missouri governor commutes sentence of white police officer convicted of fatally shooting Black man

Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri’s governor has commuted the sentence of a white Kansas City police officer who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a Black man. Gov. Mike Parson decided Friday to free Eric DeValkenaere, who was serving a six-year prison sentence after he was convicted in 2021 of killing 26-year-old Cameron Lamb. At trial, DeValkenaere testified he fired after Lamb pointed a gun at another detective. Prosecutors have argued, however, that police lacked a warrant to be on the property. Parson also commuted the sentence of Patty Prewitt, who had served nearly 40 years in prison for the killing of her husband.