NY police bigwig who drove son to gang shooting is sorority sisters with mayor who gave her job

Nypost · Aug 06, 2026 · 1037 words · By Joe Marino; Steven Vago; Jorge Fitz-Gibbon

Criminality and Gang Violence Nepotism and Cronyism Government accountability

headphones Listen to the eFinder podcast briefing

Generate a natural audio summary of this story

Daily briefing

What to know about Criminality and Gang Violence

NY police bigwig who drove son to gang shooting is sorority sisters with mayor who gave her job See more of our coverage in your search results.

Claims checked 17

Techniques found 4

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center83%

Right17%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

NY police bigwig who drove son to gang shooting is sorority sisters with mayor who gave her job See more of our coverage in your search results.

Why it matters

Add The New York Post on Google The disgraced Westchester County police official charged with driving her gangbanging son to a shooting is a sorority sister of the mayor who gave her the cushy gig.

Common ground

Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard hired Jennifer Lackard to head up the newly created police department Wellness Unit in 2020, despite her having no law enforcement experience, an ex-con husband and an out-of-control son in a street gang.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Name Calling / Labeling, Smears: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Criminality and Gang Violence story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that The two also attend Grace Baptist Church?
How does this story connect Criminality and Gang Violence with Nepotism and Cronyism over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/08/06/us-news/ny-police-bigwig-who-drove-son-to-gang-sho…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 4 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 100% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Name Calling / Labeling 90% confidence

Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.

Why it matters: Recognizing name calling / labeling helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Smears 80% confidence

Using damaging allegations to undermine a person's reputation.

Why it matters: Recognizing smears helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Exaggeration / Hyperbole 70% confidence

Overstating facts or claims to create a stronger emotional response.

Why it matters: Recognizing exaggeration / hyperbole helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 17 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 7

check_circle Corroborated 4

info Single Source 4

help Insufficient Evidence 1

verified Verified By Reference 1

check_circle

Claim 1: “The two also attend Grace Baptist Church”

CORROBORATED

Two cross-references from the New York Post confirm that both women attend Grace Baptist Church.

compare_arrows

cross reference SUPPORTS — both attend Grace Baptist Church
https://nypost.com/2026/08/05/us-news/questions-swirl-over-h…

compare_arrows

cross reference SUPPORTS — According to Lackard’s Facebook profile, she is a member of Grace Baptist Church, a politically influential Mount Vernon congregation which is also attended by Patterson-Howard.
https://nypost.com/2026/08/05/us-news/mommas-boy-gangbanger-…

check_circle

Claim 2: “City officials confirmed Thursday that the mayor and the disgraced police bigwig were sorority sisters, with sources telling The Post they were both sworn to Delta Sigma Theta.”

CORROBORATED

Two independent web search results confirm that Mayor Patterson-Howard and Jennifer Lackard are both members of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard hired Jennifer Lackard to head up the newly created police department Wellness Unit in 2020, despite her having no law enforcement experience, an ex-con husb…
https://nypost.com/2026/08/06/us-news/ny-police-bigwig-who-d…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard's Delta Sigma Theta Tie to Jennifer Lackard.Lackard and Patterson-Howard are sorority sisters, both members of Delta Sigma Theta. A photo circulating on Facebook shows th…
https://bluestatebluesnews.com/mount-vernon-deputy-commissio…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Author. Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard (she/her/hers). Mayor of Mount Vernon, New York and co-chair of Mayors Against Illegal Guns.
https://everytownsupportfund.org/mayor-shawyn-patterson-howa…

schedule

Claim 3: “Jennifer Lackard... founded a new nonprofit, Re-Entry Link LLC in the Bronx, and took a seat on Bronx Community Board 9”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 4: “The Lackards founded Ivy House Center for Self-Sufficiency, a nonprofit that served criminal defendants with mental health or drug issues in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in 2007”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 5: “All three were indicted on attempted murder, conspiracy, attempted assault and gun charges.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided for this claim after searching.

verified

Claim 6: “Patterson-Howard having attended Howard University and John Jay College of Criminal Justice.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence for this claim is completely irrelevant, discussing the Mayor of Boston and general Wikipedia entries on African-American mayors, with no mention of Patterson-Howard's education.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The first African-American mayors were elected during Reconstruction in the Southern United States beginning about 1867. African Americans in the South were also elected to many local offices, such as…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_first_African-American…

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2024 New York Democratic presidential primary was held on April 2, 2024, as part of the Democratic Party primaries for the 2024 presidential election, alongside contests in three other states. 268…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_New_York_Democratic_presi…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 3.6Other matters addressed as city councilor.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_Wu

+ 2 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 7: “Mount Vernon is a city of 72,000 people known as a Democratic Party stronghold that shared a border with the Bronx.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 8: “On June 29, The Lackards drove to the Bronx Hall of Justice on East 161st Street, where Chase Lackard... had a scheduled court appearance”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 9: “When Chase Lackard was shot in the chest during a gang-related encounter on a Bronx city bus in 2023”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this claim discusses unrelated shootings in the Bronx and Idaho, but does not mention Chase Lackard being shot on a bus in 2023.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — He then saw someone in an In-N-Out uniform drag a person, also uniformed, bleeding from a gunshot wound in her chest across the parking lot. The employee, Koehn and the man with the pistol stayed unti…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/02/shooting-at-…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Secret Service - Flash In The Night 1982. Песни нашей МОЛОДОСТИ!.
https://ok.ru/video/7502822967980

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Police are investigating after a 56-year-old man was shot and killed in the Belmont section of the Bronx on Monday.
https://abc7ny.com/post/bronx-fatal-shooting-56-year-old-man…

info

Claim 10: “the $125,000 Mount Vernon police department position”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence consists of general salary calculator websites and does not mention the specific salary for the Mount Vernon position.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — A free calculator to convert a salary between its hourly, biweekly, monthly, and annual amounts. Adjustments are made for holiday and vacation days.
https://www.calculator.net/salary-calculator.html

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Explore accurate salary data by job title, category, and industry. Compare pay, understand market value, and see if your salary is competitive.
https://www.salary.com/research/salary

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Salary.com integrates with ADP, UKG, Workday, and more, so Max intelligence flows directly into the tools your team already works in. No manual transfers, no data gaps â€” accurate, real-time comp dat…
https://www.salary.com/

schedule

Claim 11: “Chase Lackard was ordered held without bail, while his mom posted her bail of $75,000 cash or a $150,000 bond on Thursday. Her husband is being held on $150,000 cash bail or a $300,000 bond”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

check_circle

Claim 12: “Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard hired Jennifer Lackard to head up the newly created police department Wellness Unit in 2020”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources, including a cross-reference and web search results, confirm that Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard hired Jennifer Lackard to lead the Mount Vernon Police Department's Wellness Unit in 2020.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jennifer Lackard was hired to help reform Mount Vernon's police department.Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard (D) called the case “unrelated” to Lackard’s duties. Her own city councilman and Black law-enfo…
https://civicintelligence.news/society/crime-problem/nypd-co…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Lackard and Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard are Delta Sigma Theta sorority sisters, according to the New York Post.Police official in front of NYPD vehicles. Jennifer Lackard served as a de…
https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/police-bigwig-accused…

+ 1 more evidence source

check_circle

Claim 13: “Patterson-Howard finally fired Lackard Tuesday, but only after police arrested her, her drug-peddling husband, James Lackard, and their troublemaking 20-year-old son, Chase Lackard, for their alleged role in a botched drive-by shooting of a gang rival on June 29.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web search results confirm that Jennifer Lackard was fired after being arrested along with her husband James and son Chase for their alleged role in a drive-by shooting on June 29.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jennifer Lackard, James Lackard, and Chase Lackard have each pleaded not guilty and are presumed innocent; nothing in this piece asserts their guilt. No trial date had been reported as of this writing…
https://civicintelligence.news/society/crime-problem/nypd-co…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Patterson-Howard finally fired Lackard Tuesday, but only after police arrested her, her drug-peddling husband, James Lackard, and their troublemaking 20-year-old son, Chase Lackard, for their alleged …
https://nypost.com/2026/08/06/us-news/ny-police-bigwig-who-d…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — After the shooting, James Lackard drove to E. 164th Street and College Avenue, where he and his wife switched seats, according to the indictment. They then returned to Boynton Avenue, with Chase Lacka…
https://www.lohud.com/story/news/crime/2026/08/04/mount-vern…

info

Claim 14: “Lackard, 49”

SINGLE SOURCE

The age of 49 is mentioned in one cross-reference (Nypost), but other web results are irrelevant (discussing Jennifer Lopez), meaning there is only one source for this specific fact.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jennifer Lopez - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Lopez

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jennifer, also spelled Jenifer or Jenefer, is a feminine given name, the Cornish form of Guinevere, [1] that became popular in the English-speaking world in the 20th century.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_(given_name)

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 240M Followers, 2,164 Following, 1,220 Posts - Jennifer Lopez (@jlo) on Instagram: "everything’s fine - out now"
https://www.instagram.com/jlo/

+ 1 more evidence source

info

Claim 15: “Lackard having studied the University of Michigan as an undergraduate and Cornell University for a master’s in labor and industrial relations”

SINGLE SOURCE

While the claim is present in the original text, the provided evidence only shows general information about the University of Michigan and Cornell University, not specific confirmation of Jennifer Lackard's degrees from those institutions.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jennifer Lackard, Mount Vernon’s deputy commissioner overseeing police-reform and community-wellness efforts, held a job that existed to make the department more accountable.
https://civicintelligence.news/society/crime-problem/nypd-co…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — University of Michigan is one of the top universities of the world, a public institution of higher learning, fostering excellence in research. U-M provides outstanding undergraduate, graduate and prof…
https://umich.edu/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Cornell University is a private research university that provides an exceptional education for undergraduates and graduate and professional students.
https://www.cornell.edu/

schedule

Claim 16: “James Lackard was convicted of federal drug charges in the late 1990s and served time in prison.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 17: “Jennifer and Chase Lackard were picked up by cops at their Bronx home on Tuesday, while James Lackard... turned himself in to the NYPD on Thursday.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.