A rookie Connecticut cop allegedly ran over and killed a beloved local pastor while speeding to a non-urgent call — with the victim’s family demanding he face manslaughter charges while also suing for $100 million.
Zachary Lockwood, 24, appeared in Stamford Superior Court Wednesday to be arraigned for misconduct with a motor vehicle over the July 2023 crash that killed the Rev. Tommie Jackson, a 69-year-old father of two who was picking up his mail.
The rookie Stamford cop hit the pastor while doing 65 mph in a 25-mph zone to get to a minor accident with no injuries, according to court filings cited by the Stamford Advocate.
The officer — who graduated from a police academy just six months earlier — was instructed to respond to the call with a “Code 1,” which stands for a non-emergency response with no lights or sirens, and follow the flow of traffic, the document said.
But Lockwood instead responded with a “Code 3,” which calls for officers to use lights and sirens and get to the scene as fast as possible, an arrest warrant said.
When he told a colleague who was on the phone with him that he had escalated the response, the other cop reportedly replied: “Oh damn, don’t go Code 3, go Code 2.”
Moments later, Lockwood could be heard saying, “I just hit someone, dude, I just hit someone,” according to the warrant.
When Lockwood spotted Jackson crossing the road after picking up mail from a mailbox, he “made an evasive steering maneuver” in his SUV and slammed into the clergyman, according to the state police.
Jackson, a well-known pastor at Rehoboth Fellowship Church and Faith Tabernacle Church and an assistant director of the city’s Urban Redevelopment Commission, was taken to a local hospital, where he died from his injuries.
Following a months-long investigation, Lockwood was charged on Feb. 7 with misconduct with a motor vehicle — a Class-D felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
An attorney for Jackson’s family, Darnell Crosland, has filed a motion seeking an upgraded charge, telling the Advocate that a second-degree manslaughter charge would be more appropriate because Lockwood “acted with such reckless disregard for human life.”
“I think that when you look at the evidence as it’s come out based on the state police investigation, it was more than just negligence, and I think misconduct with a motor vehicle sort of leans towards negligence,” Crosland said.
Jackson’s family is also suing the city of Stamford and Lockwood for $100 million.
Crosland said the pastor’s death left an “enormous void” in the local community, and the family’s “compensation should be just as enormous.”
Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons issued a statement at the time, saying Jackson was a personal friend and a “larger-than-life presence who was steadfast in his advocacy for social and racial justice.”
“Rev. Jackson was a pillar in the Stamford community and led a life devoted to faith and public service,” she wrote.
