A New York state police department fired its deputy commissioner on Tuesday after she allegedly acted as a getaway driver for her son in what is being investigated as an attempted murder.
The city of Mount Vernon said in an Instagram post that it had terminated Jennifer Lackard, deputy police commissioner for safety, for conduct “unrelated to her duties”.
Lackard, ۴۹, and her ۲۰-year-old son Chase were arrested in an early morning raid on Tuesday at their home in New York City’s Bronx borough, according to the New York Daily News, citing “police sources”.
The newspaper said the pair were charged with attempted murder, attempted assault, gun possession, conspiracy and reckless endangerment, in connection with shots that were fired at a group of people outside Bronx criminal court on ۲۹ June.
Chase Lackard was the alleged gunman, according to the Daily News – and jumped into a car that was driven from the scene at speed by his mother.
Nobody was struck or injured during the shooting.
The Mount Vernon statement referenced the charges against Lackard in its announcement of her firing. The announcement described her as the city’s former deputy police commissioner of wellness.
“The Mount Vernon police department is aware of the criminal charges filed by the Bronx county district attorney’s office against former deputy commissioner of wellness, Jennifer Lackard,” the statement said.
“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] and do not stem from any conduct associated with the department or the performance of her official responsibilities.”
According to the See Through NY government transparency website, Lackard’s salary was $۱۳۸,۲۱۹ in ۲۰۲۵.
Chase Lackard had previously been shot multiple times, according to reports. In January ۲۰۲۳, when he was ۱۷, he was reportedly shot in the chest on a bus in a reported dispute over gang signs with three other boys. A ۱۴-year-old member of a rival gang was later arrested and charged with attempted murder.
At the time, Mount Vernor mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard called Jennifer Lackard “a valuable member of our leadership team” – and said the city was praying for her son’s recovery.
Then, in November ۲۰۲۴, police in the Bronx responded to reports of a large fight and ended up shooting Chase Lackard, then ۱۹, after he was alleged to have pointed a ۹mm pistol at an officer’s car. Lackard was taken to hospital with two gunshot wounds to a leg and later criminally charged.
The New York City police department’s chief of patrol, John Chell, told reporters that Lackard was also arrested in September ۲۰۲۴ on a gun charge. In a statement following that episode, the Mount Vernon mayor called it “a personal matter and we are praying for the family”.
No lawyer was immediately listed for Lackards on Tuesday. The city of Mount Vernon said it “will not comment on the underlying allegations”.
The Guardian sent a request for comment to the Bronx county district attorney’s office.
