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Jennifer Lackard, 49, was taken into custody by the New York Police Department on Tuesday alongside her 20-year-old son Chase in connection with a June 29 drive-by shooting targeting members of a rival gang near the Bronx Criminal Court. According to court documents, Lackard is accused of operating the vehicle used to flee the scene of the incident. Her arrest marked an abrupt end to her tenure as deputy commissioner of wellness for the Mount Vernon Police Department.
Lackard’s professional role involved overseeing departmental reform initiatives, establishing civilian complaint review procedures, and administering officer wellness programs. When she was hired, Mount Vernon officials highlighted her community engagement work, specifically her leadership of the Station of Hope prison re-entry ministry at Grace Baptist Church and her involvement organizing the Re-Entry Meetup for Westchester County since 2015. A 2020 interview revealed that Lackard had no prior police department experience when she accepted the position.
Records show Lackard previously served on the Westchester County Probation Advisory Board and the NYC Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice Implementation Task Force. The Mount Vernon Police Official and Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard share membership in Delta Sigma Theta sorority, according to reporting by the New York Post.
Mount Vernon officials announced Lackard’s immediate termination in a statement, asserting that the criminal allegations bear no connection to her official duties or departmental conduct. The city has not yet responded to requests for further comment, and attorneys for both defendants declined immediate comment.
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