Kansas City police shooting gets renewed attention

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The death of a Kansas City man who was killed by police last year in his own backyard is getting renewed attention after his family met with President Donald Trump.Cameron Lamb’s relatives were among several families of black Americans killed in interactions with police to meet privately this week with Trump before a Rose Garden signing ceremony for an executive order that the president said would encourage better police practices. The issue has received increased scrutiny since the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.In December, Lamb was seen chasing a car in his pickup truck. Officers in a police helicopter followed Lamb, a 26-year-old father of three, and alerted officers on the ground when he backed into a lot behind his home, police said in a statement at the time.

Two plain-clothes detectives, the statement said, went to the house and made contact with Lamb in the backyard while he was still in the truck. One officer said he fired at Lamb after he watched Lamb pull out a gun and point it at the other officer who had approached the truck. The statement said Lamb was found with his left hand hanging out of the truck’s window, a gun on the ground beneath.

An internal police inquiry is complete, and the case has been turned over to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker. Her spokeswoman, Michael Mansur, said Thursday that Lamb’s death remains under investigation.

An online change.org petition demanding charges has more than 200,000 signatures.

Lee Merritt, a nationally-known civil rights attorney who is representing Lamb’s family, said it was a brief dispute with a girlfriend that caused the pursuit. He told The Star earlier this year that police were on Lamb’s property illegally and recklessly pursued a nonviolent traffic offender. Merritt also questioned whether officers violated Lamb’s Second Amendment right to bear arms.

“As a constitutional lawyer, I am particularly offended when people of color are killed in their own home,” Merritt said. “It’s something about the sanctity of someone’s home that should be protected.”

No lawsuit has been filed yet. Merritt wasn’t immediately available for an interview Thursday with The Associated Press.

Merritt also is representing the family of Ahmaud Arbery, who was fatally shot in February when a white father and son pursued the 25-year-old black man after spotting him running in their subdivision just outside of Brunswick, Georgia.

Lamb’s family and that of 47-year old Donnie Sanders, who also was fatally shot by police, are calling for the names of the officers involved to be released. Sanders died in March after a confrontation during a traffic stop. Police said Sanders raised his arms “as though he had a weapon,” but investigators later determined that Sanders was unarmed.

The families have the support of the group One Struggle KC, which is pushing for the termination of the officers, WDAF-TV reports.

“Why not let us know who killed these people?” said One Struggle KC spokesperson Nikki Smith said.

The officer who shot Brooks has since returned to duty. But the officer’s name won’t be released unless charges are filed, police spokesman, Sgt. Jacob Becchina, said Thursday. He said that is standard in all criminal investigations.

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