August 4, 2026
The arrest of Mount Vernon Deputy Commissioner Jennifer Lackard has once again raised serious concerns about leadership, accountability, and public confidence in the Mount Vernon Police Department.
While every person is entitled to due process and is presumed innocent until proven guilty, the allegations against a high-ranking police executive demand more than silence—they demand leadership.
Blacks in Law Enforcement of America (BLEA) believes accountability does not stop with the individual facing criminal charges. It extends to those responsible for leading, managing, and overseeing the department.
The Mayor of Mount Vernon serves as the City’s chief executive and bears ultimate responsibility for the performance, culture, leadership, and public accountability of the Police Department. The public has a right to ask why the department continues to be plagued by controversy, criminal arrests, federal scrutiny, and repeated leadership failures.
A Documented Pattern of Failure
The concerns surrounding the Mount Vernon Police Department did not begin with this latest arrest.
In December 2024, the United States Department of Justice concluded, after a lengthy investigation, that the Mount Vernon Police Department engaged in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional policing. The DOJ found deficiencies in supervision, training, accountability, use of force, investigative practices, and leadership oversight. The report also identified unlawful arrests, excessive force, improper searches, and failures to supervise officers adequately.
Those findings were intended to serve as a roadmap for meaningful reform. Instead, the City now finds itself confronting yet another crisis involving one of the department’s highest-ranking officials.
The people of Mount Vernon deserve to know what reforms were actually implemented, how they were measured, and why confidence in the department continues to decline.
A Pattern That Can No Longer Be Ignored
The arrest of Deputy Commissioner Lackard is not an isolated incident. It follows a growing list of criminal arrests and controversies involving members of the Mount Vernon Police Department.
Among the most recent cases are:
- Deputy Commissioner Jennifer Lackard – Arrested on felony charges after prosecutors allege she drove the getaway vehicle following an attempted gang-related shooting involving her son in the Bronx. She has been charged with attempted murder, attempted assault, criminal possession of a firearm, conspiracy, and reckless endangerment. These are allegations, and she is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
- Detective Kyren Braunskill – Indicted as part of a multi-agency gang investigation on charges including conspiracy, attempted grand larceny, and criminal possession of a forged instrument.
- Officer Brandon Hunter-Carney – Arrested on grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property charges after prosecutors alleged he deposited a stolen business check valued at more than $800,000.
- Officer Steven Moreano – Arrested on misdemeanor DWI charges while off duty.
- Officer Frank Lucadamo – Arrested in Florida on stalking allegations involving a retired Mount Vernon police officer.
Five criminal arrests involving members of the department in a relatively short period should concern every resident of Mount Vernon. Whether the alleged conduct occurred before or during employment, each case has affected public confidence in the department and underscores the importance of rigorous hiring practices, background investigations, supervision, and accountability.
Questions Surrounding the Wellness Division
The public is also demanding answers following the recent officer-involved shooting involving Ulysses McGhee, a man experiencing a documented mental health crisis during the execution of a court-ordered mental health commitment.
According to public reports, members of the Mount Vernon Police Department’s Wellness Division, negotiators, and Emergency Service Unit responded to the scene. After several hours of negotiations, officers forced entry, deployed less-lethal options, and ultimately shot Mr. McGhee.
That incident has generated significant public concern regarding crisis intervention tactics, de-escalation, command decisions, and the department’s handling of individuals who have mental illness.
As Deputy Commissioner of Public Safety Reform, Jennifer Lackard oversaw the Wellness Division and the department’s public safety reform initiatives. While there is no allegation connecting her criminal case to the McGhee shooting, her leadership role places renewed focus on whether the City’s reform efforts were properly implemented and effectively supervised.
The public deserves answers:
- If the DOJ identified serious deficiencies in training and supervision, what corrective actions were taken?
- Was the Wellness Division operating according to nationally recognized Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) standards?
- What oversight existed to evaluate the department’s mental health response protocols?
- Were the DOJ’s recommendations fully implemented, partially implemented, or ignored?
- Who is responsible for measuring whether those reforms actually improved public safety?
Leadership Must Be Accountable
At some point, these incidents can no longer be dismissed as isolated events.
When a police department has been the subject of a federal civil rights investigation, receives findings of unconstitutional policing from the U.S. Department of Justice, experiences multiple officer arrests, faces repeated controversies involving the use of force, and now sees one of its highest-ranking executives arrested on serious felony charges, the conversation must move beyond individual misconduct and toward executive accountability.
Leadership is measured not during moments of success, but during moments of crisis.
BLEA calls upon the Mayor of Mount Vernon to publicly explain:
- What reforms have actually been completed since the DOJ report?
- How has the City measured whether those reforms have been successful?
- What changes have been made to leadership, supervision, hiring, and accountability?
- Why do serious controversies continue to emerge despite promises of reform?
- At what point does executive leadership accept responsibility for the direction of the department?
The honorable men and women who wear the badge deserve ethical leadership, effective supervision, and a department they can be proud to serve.
The residents of Mount Vernon deserve a police department that reflects professionalism, constitutional policing, transparency, and accountability.
Public trust cannot be restored through silence. It must be earned through honest leadership, meaningful reform, and accountability at every level of government.
