STAMFORD, Conn. (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) — An officer with the Stamford Police Department was charged on Wednesday for fatally striking a community reverend, who was grabbing his mail, with a police vehicle in summer 2023.
According to the Connecticut State Police, at about 4:20 p.m. on July 26, 2023, officer Zachary Lockwood, 24, was driving a police vehicle eastbound on Wire Mill Road in Stamford. The road contains a right curve.
At the same time, 69-year-old Rev. Dr. Tommie Jackson was on foot and crossing the street after grabbing his mail.
Upon coming across Jackson after a right curve, Lockwood attempted an "evasive steering maneuver" and swerved into the westbound lane. In that lane, the 2017 Ford Interceptor Utility that Lockwood was driving struck Jackson.
Jackson was transported to Stamford Hospital where he was pronounced dead, officials said.
The Stamford State’s Attorney’s Office requested that the state police Western District Crime Squad, with the Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Squad, conducted the investigation.
The extensive investigation found that Lockwood was responding to a motor vehicle collision, without injuries, at an address on Hope Street. Dispatchers then informed responding officers that there was a disturbance involving multiple people at the scene, at which point Lockwood turned on his sirens and lights, state police said.
The final activation of Lockwood’s siren was 15 seconds before the incident. Analysis showed that he was driving 65 mph for 300 feet prior to the collision without an audible siren, and 46 mph at the time of impact.
Wire Mill Road’s speed limit is 25 mph, and based on his driving, the state police said that Lockwood’s vehicle did not meet the lawful elements of an emergency vehicle.
The Stamford Superior Court issued an arrest warrant on Wednesday, and once he heard that a warrant was out for him, Lockwood turned himself in to Connecticut State Police Troop G in Bridgeport.
"As the State Police criminal investigation has now been completed, the Stamford Police Department Internal Affairs Unit can now begin the internal administrative investigation into this incident," Police Chief Timothy Shaw said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved with this tragic incident."
Lockwood was charged with misconduct with a motor vehicle, a class D felony. He was released on a $10,000 non-surety bond and will be arraigned on Feb. 21, authorities said.
Jackson, a married father of two with both a JD and doctorate in theology, had been the pastor of Faith Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church for 20 years at the time of his death, according to his obituary.
The pastor was involved in local and state politics, and his obituary said that he spent time "advising, assisting and campaigning for candidates whose messages he believed would serve and better the community he loved."
Jackson also served as a faculty member at the New York Theological Seminary and was the Assistant Director of Stamford’s Urban Redevelopment Committee.
A memorial service was held on Aug, 4, 2023 to honor Jackson.