Mount Vernon Swears In 2 New Deputy Police Commissioners

From Mount Vernon City Hall

Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard and Police Commissioner Glenn Scott swear in recently retired NYPD Deputy Inspector Ernest Morales III as First Deputy Police Commissioner and Jennifer Lackard as Deputy Police Commissioner of Special Initiatives on Tuesday.

Ernest Morales is the first Latino Deputy Police Commissioner in the history of Mount Vernon and Jennifer Lackard ushers in a new approach to Community Policing.

Both have extensive backgrounds in community programs, both professional and volunteer, that city officials believe will increase the bandwidth of the department, much needed in this time of strained community relations.

Morales joined the NYPD in 1990. He is a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve. He volunteers with Avenues for Justice, a supervised program for youth that provides court advocacy, tutoring and mentorship, gets participants the drug, alcohol and mental health treatment and job training they need to succeed.

As Deputy Commissioner for Special Initiatives, Lackard will oversee the development of strategies for police reform, behavioral health and wellness for both officers and community, policies and procedures, implementation of the new Civilian Complaint Review Board and re-entry support for formerly incarcerated persons.

Lackard brings a wealth of knowledge and resources on prison re-entry, behavioral health, civic engagement and overall health and wellness. Her commitment to the crisis intervention model led to an invitation to train law enforcement officers from across the country at an International CIT Conference.