A Bronx shooting case has pulled a Mount Vernon police official into the center of a criminal investigation. Jennifer Lackard, 49, was arrested by the New York Police Department on Tuesday along with her son, Chase, 20, in connection with a June 29 drive-by shooting near Bronx Criminal Court, court records show.
Authorities allege Lackard drove the getaway car after the shooting, which is said to have targeted rival gang members. Before her arrest, she served as deputy commissioner of wellness for the Mount Vernon Police Department, a role that placed her inside the city’s law enforcement leadership structure. Mount Vernon sits just north of New York City and borders the Bronx, placing the department close to the scene of the alleged crime.
According to the reporting, Lackard and Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard are Delta Sigma Theta sorority sisters. The connection has drawn attention because Lackard was hired into a senior police post despite having no prior police department experience, a point she acknowledged in a 2020 interview with Gothamist. At the time, she said taking the position required a leap of faith on the department’s part.
Her work in Mount Vernon focused on police reform, civilian complaint review board implementation and officer wellness. When the city announced her hire, it praised her background in community work, including leadership at the Station of Hope prison re-entry ministry at Grace Baptist Church and her role organizing the Re-Entry Meetup for Westchester County since 2015. She also held advisory roles with the Westchester County Probation Advisory Board and the NYC Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice Implementation Task Force.
