Dems In Damage Control Mode Over ‘Thug-Hugging’ Police Bigwig Tied To Gang Shooting
Democrats can’t run fast enough from the fallout surrounding a former Westchester police bigwig’s arrest in connection with a gang-related shooting.
Former Mount Vernon Deputy Police Commissioner Jennifer Lackard has been charged with attempted murder after authorities say she and her ex-con husband James Lackard drove the getaway car for her son — known Slutty Gang member Chase Lackard — when he shot at a rival gang member in the Bronx last June.
As The New York Post reported, local Democrats are not terribly interested in Lackard’s case — except in the most generic of terms — and the reason appears to be political. Westchester, after being known for decades as a Republican stronghold, has shifted dramatically leftward in recent years — and was even touted in 2022 as the “Sixth Borough.”
The most recent election data shows that Mount Vernon has some 44,000 registered voters: 31,000 are Democrats compared to just 2,800 Republicans.
Lackard, who was hired as part of a police reform initiative in 2020, is seen as part of that shift. Democratic Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard tapped Lackard — who had no prior law enforcement experience — for the newly created position of deputy commissioner overseeing the department’s wellness initiatives.
Governor Kathy Hochul’s office, rather than address Lackard’s case specifically, gave The Post a vague statement condemning police misconduct in the most general of terms.
“Governor [Kathy] Hochul’s top priority is public safety,” a spokesperson for the governor said. “Those entrusted with keeping New Yorkers safe must be held to the highest ethical and professional standards, and anyone whose actions jeopardize the critical mission of law enforcement must be investigated and held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
While State Sen. Jamaal Bailey did condemn Lackard’s actions in more specific terms, he gave the city some wiggle room by saying that they never could have predicted her behavior when they hired her for the six-figure job.
“While these allegations are unacceptable and incredibly serious, it’s important to note that it’s not possible to predict the future behavior of any employee,” Bailey said. “The purported conduct did not occur during the course of or related to her duties and should have no bearing on how the department is viewed.”
Lackard is accused of driving the car at least part of the time when she and her husband first delivered their gang-affiliated son to a court appearance and then drove him around the area near the courthouse so that he could open fire from the vehicle on a rival gang member. He did not hit his intended target, but drove away with his parents. All three were eventually arrested in connection with the attempted hit.
Republican National Committee spokeswoman Natalie Baldassarre told The Post that there was no excuse for the Democrats refusing to address the case head-on: “Democrats are the first to preach ‘no one is above the law’ until it screws them politically. This thug-hugging mom had no business being a police commissioner and any official who covered for her should be held to account.”
White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis added, “Yet again, extreme liberal Democrats are protecting criminals over law abiding American citizens.”
