The city of Mount Vernon, New York terminated deputy police commissioner Jennifer Lackard on August 4, 2026, after she was arrested in an early morning raid at her Bronx home and charged with attempted murder for allegedly acting as the getaway driver for her 20-year-old son, Chase Lackard, in a shooting outside Bronx Criminal Courthouse. The Guardian

Mount Vernon announced Lackard's dismissal in an Instagram post, identifying her as the city's former deputy police commissioner of wellness and stating that the allegations were unrelated to her duties with the Mount Vernon police department. The Guardian

Jennifer Lackard, 49, and Chase Lackard were arrested on August 4 at their residence in the Bronx. The NYPD brought attempted murder charges against Jennifer Lackard in connection with a shooting on June 29, 2026, in which shots were fired at a group of people outside Bronx criminal court. PIX11

Chase Lackard was the alleged gunman in the Bronx courthouse shooting. After firing at the group, he jumped into a car driven from the scene at speed by his mother, according to authorities. Nobody was struck or injured during the shooting. Both Lackards were charged with attempted murder, attempted assault, gun possession, conspiracy, and reckless endangerment. The Guardian

The charges cap a multi-year sequence of violent incidents involving Chase Lackard and, separately, his mother. In January 2023, when Chase was 17, he was shot in the chest on an MTA bus in a reported dispute over gang signs involving three other boys. A 14-year-old member of a rival gang was arrested and charged with attempted murder in connection with that shooting. Following the incident, Mount Vernon mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard called Jennifer Lackard "a valuable member of our leadership team." The Guardian

In November 2024, Bronx police shot Chase Lackard, then 19, after he allegedly pointed a 9mm pistol at an officer's car. He was hospitalized with two gunshot wounds to a leg and subsequently criminally charged. One month earlier, in September 2024, Jennifer Lackard was herself arrested on a gun charge. The Guardian

Jennifer Lackard was sworn in as deputy police commissioner in July 2020, alongside Ernest Morales III, a 30-year NYPD veteran. At the time, she was described as a civilian and justice reform advocate. According to the See Through NY government transparency database, her salary in 2025 was $138,219. The Guardian; Mount Vernon City Government

The trajectory here warrants examination. Lackard was appointed to a senior law enforcement oversight role as a civilian reform advocate, then faced a gun charge within roughly four years of taking office, and now stands accused of participating directly in a violent felony alongside her son. The city's assertion that the allegations are unrelated to her official duties is technically accurate insofar as the Bronx shooting occurred outside her jurisdictional purview. But the pattern of her son's escalating encounters with the criminal justice system, combined with her own firearms charge, raises questions about the adequacy of vetting and ongoing fitness reviews for civilian leadership appointments in police departments. Patterson-Howard's public expression of confidence in Lackard after the 2023 bus shooting now reads as an early data point in what became a deteriorating situation.

The June 29 courthouse shooting is also notable for its location. An act of gunfire outside a criminal courthouse, where defendants, witnesses, and court personnel converge, carries implications for courtroom security and the broader functioning of the justice system. The fact that no one was injured is a matter of circumstance rather than design.

The case now moves into the criminal prosecution phase, with both Jennifer and Chase Lackard facing a combined slate of five charges each. Mount Vernon has moved swiftly to sever its institutional relationship with Lackard, using a public social media announcement rather than a traditional press release, a choice that signals the city's intent to control the narrative around the dismissal.