A high-ranking police official in Westchester County, N.Y., was charged with attempted murder in New York City on Tuesday, according to the New York Police Department.
The official, Jennifer Lackard, who served as a deputy police commissioner in Mount Vernon until her termination on Tuesday, is accused of having helped her son flee the scene of a Bronx shooting earlier this summer, according to two law enforcement officials with knowledge of the charges who were not authorized to speak publicly. The arrests, which were executed on a warrant, stemmed from charges filed by the Bronx district attorney’s office, one official said.
Ms. Lackard, 49, and her son Chase Lackard, 20, were taken into custody by Police Department officers at their home in the Soundview neighborhood of the Bronx. She was also charged with conspiracy, and her son was charged with attempted murder, conspiracy and criminal possession of a firearm, the police said.
The city of Mount Vernon said in a statement on Tuesday that it was aware of the criminal charges filed against Ms. Lackard and that the department had removed her from her post effective immediately. The charges were unrelated to Ms. Lackard’s employment with the city, where she worked with the Police Department’s Wellness division, the statement said. The city declined to comment further on the allegations.
A lawyer for Ms. Lackard could not be immediately identified. A lawyer who represented Mr. Lackard in two previous criminal cases could not immediately be reached for comment.
The charges on Tuesday stem from an episode involving Ms. Lackard and her son outside the Bronx Criminal Court in late June. According to witness accounts and video reviewed by the police, Mr. Lackard was outside the courthouse on East 162nd Street and Grant Avenue midday on June 29 when he pulled out a gun and fired at a group of people, the police said.
No one was injured in the episode, but the police said that after Mr. Lackard fired the gun, he jumped into a car, whose driver then sped away from the scene.
Police officers called to the area did not make any arrests at the time, the police said. But after further investigation, detectives identified the shooter as Mr. Lackard and the driver of the getaway car as his mother, Ms. Lackard, said one of the officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Mr. Lackard has been criminally charged at least twice in New York City, with offenses related to weapons possession, according to court documents.
In August 2024, Mr. Lackard was arrested and charged in Manhattan Supreme Court with criminal possession of a firearm and several other offenses. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Later that year, in November, Mr. Lackard was arrested in the Bronx on a slate of charges, including criminal possession of a weapon and menacing, after pulling out a loaded gun and pointing it at several uniformed police officers, the law enforcement official said. The officers responded by firing at Mr. Lackard, who was 19 at the time, striking him. He was then taken to a nearby hospital in stable condition and later pleaded not guilty to the charges, the official said.
Ms. Lackard had no criminal history in the five boroughs until her arrest on Tuesday.
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