January 1, Police Official Busted Driving Gang Getaway Car Had Shocking Ties to Mayor

Wyatt’s Take

• New York police deputy commissioner arrested for allegedly driving getaway car in her son’s gang shooting—shows how deep the rot goes when political connections trump law and order
• She’s sorority sisters with the mayor who hired her despite zero police experience, proving it’s not what you know but who you know in these Democrat-run cities
• Woman tasked with ‘police reform’ and ‘civilian complaints’ was allegedly helping her gang-member son dodge justice—the hypocrisy is off the charts

A suburban New York police official accused of driving the getaway car for her son’s alleged gang shooting had troubling connections to the mayor’s office when she landed her cushy leadership role. Court records show Jennifer Lackard, 49, and her son Chase, 20, were both arrested by the New York Police Department on Tuesday in connection with a June 29 drive-by shooting at rival gang members near the Bronx Criminal Court.

Prior to her arrest, Lackard worked as the deputy commissioner of wellness for the Mount Vernon Police Department. Mount Vernon borders the Bronx, just north of New York City.

Here’s where it gets interesting: Lackard and Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard are Delta Sigma Theta sorority sisters. Nothing says good governance like handing out taxpayer-funded jobs to your sorority pals, right?

In her former position, Lackard was tasked with police reform, civilian complaint review board implementation and officer wellness. Let that sink in—the woman supposedly overseeing police accountability was allegedly helping her son escape a gang shooting.

When she was hired the city said:

“Lackard brings a wealth of knowledge and resources to the City of Mount Vernon has worked on the community level as President of the Station of Hope prison re-entry ministry at Grace Baptist Church and organizer of the Re-Entry Meetup for Westchester County since 2015.”

In a 2020 interview, she “acknowledged the leap of faith it took for the department to give her the position,” and admitted she had “never worked for a police department” prior to landing the position. Some leap of faith—more like cronyism at its finest.

She previously held advisory roles on the Westchester County Probation Advisory Board and the NYC Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice Implementation Task Force. Apparently none of that prepared her to stay on the right side of the law herself.

In a statement posted on social media, the City of Mount Vernon 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 Department and do not stem from any conduct associated with the Department or the performance of her official responsibilities.”

Attorneys for Jennifer and Chase Lackard did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Neither did Mayor Patterson-Howard or Delta Sigma Theta.

Wyatt Matters

This is exactly what happens when identity politics and personal connections matter more than competence and character. Working Americans in flyover country know you can’t run a police department—or any organization—based on who’s in your sorority or what boxes you check. We need leaders who respect the law, not officials who think they’re above it. When the people tasked with reform are the ones breaking the rules, the whole system becomes a joke.