A suburban New York police official, accused of being the getaway driver for her son’s purported gang-related shooting, is said to have secured her leadership position through connections with the mayor’s office.
Jennifer Lackard, 49, and her 20-year-old son, Chase, were arrested by the New York Police Department on Tuesday. This arrest comes in relation to a drive-by shooting that targeted rival gang members near the Bronx Criminal Court on June 29, according to court documents.
Before her arrest, Lackard served as the deputy commissioner of wellness for the Mount Vernon Police Department.
Jennifer Lackard, 49, is facing charges for allegedly driving the getaway car while her son executed a gang shooting, according to police reports. (City of Mount Vernon)
Mount Vernon is located just north of New York City, bordering the Bronx.
Lackard and Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard are Delta Sigma Theta sorority sisters, according to the New York Post.
In her former position, Lackard was tasked with police reform, civilian complaint review board implementation and officer wellness.
Jennifer Lackard served as a deputy police commissioner with the Mount Vernon Police Department. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News via Getty Images; Mt. Vernon Police Department)
When she was hired the city said, “Lackard brings a wealth of knowledge and resources to the City of Mount Vernon has worked on the community level as President of the Station of Hope prison re-entry ministry at Grace Baptist Church and organizer of the Re-Entry Meetup for Westchester County since 2015.”
NYPD officers and detectives investigate after Chase Lackard, 19, was shot and wounded by police on White Plains Road near Lafayette Ave. in the Bronx on Nov. 22, 2024, in New York City. (Barry Williams / New York Daily News via Getty Images)
In a 2020 interview with Gothamist, she “acknowledged the leap of faith it took for the department to give her the position,” and she had “never worked for a police department,” prior to landing the position.
The City of Mount Vernon hired Jennifer Lackard in July 2020. (Getty Images: Ward Dewitt)
She previously held advisory roles on the Westchester County Probation Advisory Board and the NYC Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice Implementation Task Force.
In a statement posted on social media, the City of Mount Vernon said in part, “Effective immediately, the City of Mount Vernon has terminated Jennifer Lackard’s employment. The allegations are unrelated to her duties with the Mount Vernon Police Department and do not stem from any conduct associated with the Department or the performance of her official responsibilities.”
NYPD officers and detectives investigate after Chase Lackard, 19, was shot and wounded by police on White Plains Road near Lafayette Ave. in the Bronx on Nov. 22, 2024, in New York City. (Barry Williams / New York Daily News via Getty Images)
News Media has reached out to Patterson-Howard and Delta Sigma Theta for comment.
Attorneys for Jennifer and Chase Lackard did not immediately respond to requests for comment.