Reverend Dr. Tommie Jackson was committing the age old offense of walking while black last July when he was struck and killed by a Stamford Police Department (SPD) patrol car driven by Officer Zachary Lockwood. Lockwood was flying down the road with his siren on at about twice the speed limit in response to a call pertaining to an accident without any injuries when he alleged spotted Rev. Jackson at the last moment and tried to swerve out of the way before hitting him. Typically people are charged with manslaughter for such things but Lockwood is only facing one count of misconduct with a motor vehicle. He easily posted a $10,000 bond and was released.
According to media reports, Lockwood was going 65 MPH about 300 feet away from Jackson before activating his siren just 15 seconds before hitting him. Lockwood was going 46 MPH at the time of the accident despite the posted speed limit being just 25 MPH. This type of reckless driving might be justifiable in cases in which officers are responding to life threatening situations, but it is inexcusable when they're only responding to reports of accidents without injuries. Lockwood has no plausible defense as far as we can tell.
Even if Rev. Jackson was jaywalking or should have heard the siren, he was 69 years old. One of the things police officers are or should be trained to do is look out for old people who might not be completely aware of their surroundings. Rev. Jackson could have been hard of hearing or suffering from any number of things old people have which might cause them not to notice a siren fast of enough to get out of the way. Even if he noticed the siren there is a good chance someone his age would not be able to get out of the road due to any number of physical or mental ailments.
Usually, when someone accidentally kills someone while committing a crime that person is charged with manslaughter. Manslaughter has always been defined as the accidental killing of another person (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manslaughter). Depending on state law, the person might also or alternatively be charged with negligent homicide. Misconduct with a motor vehicle is such a minor offense nobody should view this charging decision as anything but a slap in the face against the community by prosecutors and law enforcement who want to claim they're doing the right thing when in fact they're just going through the motions for PR purposes.
According to online research, Zachary Lockwood is still active on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachary-lockwood-0a1b441a1). We are uploading a copy of his current profile as a PDF with this article. On LinkedIn, Lockwood claims to be a 2021 graduate of Southern Connecticut State University, a hockey coach at Stamford Twin Rinks, and a 2017 graduate of Trinity Catholic High School.
According to public records, Zachary Tho Lockwood is a 24 year old resident of Stamford, Connecticut with no prior criminal history. He has been on administrative leave since the incident.
Rev. Jackson served as pastor at the Rehoboth Fellowship Church and Faith Tabernacle Church in Stamford, Connecticut for 20 years. His death shocked the community where he is sorely missed.