Stamford Police Officer Charged In Fatal Pedestrian Crash: State Police

STAMFORD, CT — Zachary Lockwood, the police officer who was involved in the crash that killed the Rev. Tommie Jackson on Wire Mill Road in Stamford last July, was arrested Wednesday afternoon following a lengthy investigation, according to state authorities.

Lockwood turned himself into Connecticut State Police Troop G in Bridgeport on an arrest warrant that charges him with misconduct with a motor vehicle, a Class D felony.

He was released on a $10,000 non-surety bond and is scheduled to be arraigned in Stamford Superior Court on Feb. 21.

On July 26, 2023, at approximately 4:20 p.m., Lockwood was responding to a report of a car crash without injuries on Hope Street and traveling eastbound on Wire Mill Road in a marked, 2017 Explorer Interceptor Utility patrol car, state police said in a news release Wednesday evening.

Jackson, 69, a Wire Mill Road resident, had just retrieved mail from his mailbox and was attempting to cross the roadway, state police said.

Upon seeing Jackson, Lockwood made "an evasive steering maneuver," causing the police vehicle to enter into the westbound lane.

While within the westbound lane, the police vehicle collided with Jackson, who was taken to Stamford Hospital where he was pronounced dead, state police said.

Before the crash on Wire Mill Road, while Lockwood was heading to Hope Street, dispatch updated responding officers and advised them of a disturbance involving multiple people at the Hope Street scene, state police said.

Lockwood activated his emergency siren intermittently during his response in conjunction with the overhead lights as he traveled along Wire Mill Road, before hitting Jackson, state police said.

"Investigators further determined that Officer Lockwood’s final activation of his emergency siren occurred 15 seconds before the impact occurred," state police said. "Based upon this information, at the time the collision with Mr. Jackson occurred, Officer Lockwood’s police vehicle did not meet the elements of an emergency vehicle as defined by Connecticut General Statute, 14-283."

Additionally, analysis showed Lockwood was driving 65 mph approximately 300 feet before the collision without an audible siren, and 46 mph when the police vehicle collided with Jackson, according to state police.

The posted speed limit on Wire Mill Road is 25 mph.

A member of the SPD since April 2022, Lockwood was placed on administrative after the incident.

Jackson was remembered by those who knew him as an advocate for social and racial justice, and a pillar in the community.

He was a pastor at Rehoboth Fellowship Church in Stamford, and previously at Faith Tabernacle Church. He was also the assistant director of the Stamford Urban Redevelopment Commission, an agency created in 1954 that handles municipal development projects.

Jackson's wife, Dorye, is a member of the Stamford Police Commission.

In a news conference following the incident last year, Assistant Stamford Police Chief Silas Redd called Jackson "a beacon of light to so many."

Redd noted that many of his family members and friends had christenings, marriages and homegoing services under Jackson.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved with this tragic incident," the SPD said in a news release Wednesday.

On Thursday, Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons released a statement.

"This incident was an unimaginable tragedy for our community, and my prayers remain with Reverend Jackson’s family, and everyone involved," she said. "I would like to thank the Connecticut State Police for their investigation, and I am hopeful for a fair and just resolution to this horrific situation."

With the state police investigation finished, the SPD said its internal affairs unit can now begin an internal administrative investigation.