A deputy police commissioner in Westchester County was arrested and charged with attempted murder after allegedly driving the getaway car for her son following a shooting near Bronx Criminal Court in late June.
Jennifer Lackard, 49, served as deputy commissioner of the Mount Vernon Police Department until her termination on Tuesday, hours after her arrest at her home in the Soundview section of the Bronx alongside her 20-year-old son, Chase Lackard.
Both mother and son face felony charges including attempted murder, attempted assault, criminal possession of a firearm, conspiracy and reckless endangerment, according to police and court records, according to the New York Post.
Lackard was arraigned Tuesday with bail set at $75,000; she is scheduled to return to court on Sept. 25.
The charges stem from an incident on June 29, when Chase Lackard allegedly brandished a firearm and opened fire at a group of people near East 162nd Street and Grand Avenue, behind the Bronx Hall of Justice, just before noon, according to law enforcement sources and video evidence reviewed by detectives.
No one was struck or injured in the shooting, police confirmed. After discharging the weapon, Chase Lackard is said to have run to a vehicle waiting nearby, which then sped away from the scene, according to multiple law enforcement sources.
Investigators later identified Jennifer Lackard as the driver of that vehicle, alleging she helped her son flee the area after the gunfire, ABC7 NY reported.
Court documents and police statements indicate that witnesses and surveillance footage were key to linking both suspects to the incident, even though no arrests were made at the time.
The Mount Vernon Police Department stated in a public announcement that the allegations against Lackard are unrelated to her official duties and do not involve conduct connected to the department or her responsibilities as a senior official.
Law enforcement sources told the New York Post that Jennifer Lackard also helped plan the shooting and gave her son advice on how to carry it out, according to reporting that cited police sources familiar with the investigation.
Chase Lackard has a prior history of gun violence in the same neighborhood. In November 2024, he was shot in the chest during an apparent gang-related fight on an MTA bus in Soundview, according to News 12 reporting citing police sources.
At the time, he was 19 and was arrested and charged in connection with that officer-involved shooting incident, though details of those charges were not fully disclosed in subsequent reports, as per the Florida Sun Journal.