Missouri – Police say the suspect pointed a gun at a detective, who then shot and killed the man. But the family is saying it was a case of mistaken identity, now they’ve hired a prominent civil rights lawyer in an attempt to get justice for the man’s “murder”.
According to the Kansas City Police Department, last week several officers were in the area of 35th and College and working an unrelated vehicle crash. While conducting that investigation, one officer witnessed what appeared to be a red truck chasing a purple Ford Mustang.
A police helicopter that was in the area was notified of the vehicles and began to follow the truck to a home near 41st and College. The truck came to a stop at the home that was later identified as the residence of 26-year-old Cameron Lamb.
The truck was parked in the backyard of the home. When officers arrived on scene on foot, the KCPD reports that a detective saw Lamb, who was sitting inside the truck, reportedly pull out a gun and then point it at another officer that was on the scene.
The detective shot Lamb, killing him. KCPD reports that both officers were in plainclothes at the time, but were wearing external black ballistic vests on the outside of their clothing that had “POLICE” written on them.
KCPD also reported that the detectives were only there to question what the vehicle disturbance was about between the truck and the mustang.
A week after the incident, Lamb’s family has hired a prominent civil rights attorney. They say the police department hasn’t given them any answers. However, the KCPD says that the attorney is spreading false information through news media and social media platforms about the incident in question.
According to KCTV News 5, Lee Merritt is a self-described social justice activist and attorney. He’s defended many high-profile cases of black men and women shot and killed by police.
Merritt had this to say about police and the incident with the KCPD:
“2019 is on pace to be one of the bloodiest years on record for police use of force. However, we’re seeing indictments and convictions more often of law enforcement officers and so we want to continue to press,” Merritt said.
“We’re hoping law enforcement will learn there is accountability if they use deadly for without the proper justification,” Merritt said.
Merritt announced on social media that he would be taking the case from Lamb’s family. The tweet reads that the KCPD killed Lamb who was only repairing cars in his backyard at the time of the shooting.
“My office has been formally retained to represent the family of #CameronLamb who was killed by KCPD Tuesday December 3, 2019 as he was repairing cars in his own backyard. He was deeply loved and his murder represents an irreplaceable loss for this family. They demand justice.”
My office has been formally retained to represent the family of #CameronLamb who was killed by KCPD Tuesday December 3, 2019 as he was repairing cars in his own backyard. He was deeply loved and his murder represents an irreplaceable loss for this family. They demand justice. pic.twitter.com/qQM3NwTJUa
— S. Lee Merritt, Esq. (@MeritLaw) December 9, 2019
The KCPD responded the accusations on twitter as well;
(1 of 2) @MeritLaw We would welcome conversation with Mr Lamb’s family to answer as much as we can at this time. The investigation has shown it does not appear he was “working on cars” when he and officers interacted. When investigators arrived, He was found with his left arm outside the driver’s window and underneath his left hand was a gun on the ground.
Criticism, however, continues to flood into the police departments social media on how the case was handled.
Citizens have every right to have a gun in their home/business and if necessary used that gun against the armed men invading said premises. No one cares if he was actively changing nuts & bolts when he was shot to death.
— S. Lee Merritt, Esq. (@MeritLaw) December 9, 2019
Kansas City Police if you can come online and release this information about the incident, why aren't you releasing ALL the information, rather than cherry picking what will protect and serve YOURSELVES, #ThinBlueLine only interested in itself, not justice. SHAME, ON, YOU!
— FuckBadCops (@FuckBadCops) December 9, 2019
So his arm was detached, laying on the ground and a gun was underneath it?
Or does he have go go #InspectorGadget robo arms that he can elongate to grab a gun on the ground outside the car when armed strangers enter his yard? 1312— Kitten of Odin (@KittenOfOdin) December 9, 2019
Merritt went on to state;
“The family of Cameron Lamb is asking the community to stand with them and demand transparency and demand the respect of their family. They should not have questions of what happened a week later to their loved one,” Merritt said.
Police are currently still investigating the shooting and are working on releasing both audio and video of the moments that led up to the shooting.
Kansas City Police, is this what you do, murder a man and then come online to smear his name in order to protect the dirty cops? you wanted to have a conversation, but so far all you are doing is tearing down the man you killed, haven't you done enough for the day, LOGOFF!
— FuckBadCops (@FuckBadCops) December 9, 2019
KCTV5 News was given a statement by the Kansas City Police ‘that details what led up to the shooting. It includes a transcript of radio traffic between officers.’
“Numerous officers were in the area of 35th and College due to an unrelated traffic crash at about 12:22 p.m. Dec. 3. An officer in the area of the incident saw a red truck chasing a purple Mustang and broadcasted that occurrence on the radio. Officers in the police helicopter located the red truck and started to follow it while broadcasting its location to officers on the ground.
A transcript of the radio traffic of the officers is as follows:
Officer: Eastbound 43 and Cleveland – there’s a red truck chasing a maroon-colored Mustang.
Dispatcher: Copy. Are you going to follow the vehicle?
Officer: I didn’t know if 690 was still flying. It’s almost caused several accidents
Helicopter officer (aka 690): Yeah we’re at 35th and Hardesty right now heading that way. Where are they at?
Officer: They’re going so fast. I’m at 43 and Spruce. It’s like a deep purple Mustang with a white top, and there’s a pick-up truck chasing it.
Helicopter officer: What direction did you last see them at? I’ve got a red truck going WB on 45th.
Officer: They were eastbound 43 and Cleveland. Doing about 90.
Helicopter officer: Yeah this red pick-up’s doing about 60 coming down 45th Street, coming up on Cleveland now. He’s gonna’ run the red light and go NB. He went around a vehicle.
The driver of the truck presented a clear danger to other drivers, particularly the occupants of the purple Mustang he was chasing. The helicopter officers saw the truck back into a residential lot behind a house in the 4100 block of College. They directed officers on the ground to that location. They needed to determine why the driver was chasing the Mustang.
One officer went to the south side of the house, and one to the north. The officer who came from the south made contact with an individual in the back yard who was working on vehicles. The other officer from the north watched Cameron Lamb back the truck down the driveway. He saw Lamb pull a gun and point it in the direction of the other officer. The officer on the north side fired at Lamb. Lamb never exited the truck. The other individual who had been working on cars was not involved in the incident and was not injured.
Lamb was found with his left hand hanging out the truck’s window with a gun on the ground underneath it.”
Captain Tim Hernandez of the Media Unit is briefing members of the media now on the latest information on this case.
Detectives and Crime Scene investigators will be processing the scene this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/YIwK0pTnqi— Kansas City Police (@kcpolice) December 3, 2019
After taking the case, Merritt gave an interview to reporters in Lamb’s backyard stating to them;
“It very well may play out that this was a situation that was unavoidable but we, particularly this family, shouldn’t be guessing that a week later. There’s something that we call in practice, procedural justice,” Merritt said. “So when law enforcement feels that it’s necessary to use deadly force, they then have an obligation to the community and particularly to families, to provide a thorough explanation.” Merritt told reporters.
“As a civil rights attorney, I think the home is particularly sacred, sacred under the Constitution and that deadly forced should be rarely used in these situations,” Merritt said.
https://twitter.com/M1k3_P3rry/status/1203927939919810560?s=20
He went on to point out where the incident occurred, and explaining to reporters that he and his team are now conducting their own investigation of what transpired that day which they will mostly use in a civil suit.
“His car was back here,” Merritt said, pointing to Lamb’s backyard. “It’s actually also the place where he worked. It was a garage for him. So, it was both his home and place of business. I’ve learned through years of practice, that if there was a narrative that worked for law enforcement that would help people understand why this happened, they would have released it immediately,” he said.
Merritt and Lamb’s family are expected to meet with the district attorney this week and they will be asking for any video from the helicopter or body cameras to be released.
Release all available footage to the family. They shouldn’t have to guess. No family welcomes a conversation with the department responsible for murdering their love one. The location where he was shot to death was his home/business where he repairs cars.
— S. Lee Merritt, Esq. (@MeritLaw) December 9, 2019
The KCPD investigation is still on going. It was reported that there was a second person who was in the backyard at the time of the shooting who was working on cars but they were reportedly uninjured.
According to department protocols, the detective involved in the shooting, who has yet to be identified, has been placed on administrative leave.
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