As a Connecticut neighborhood mourns the demise of a distinguished religion chief, the state police have launched an investigation into how he was struck and killed whereas crossing the road close to his house in Stamford.
Rev. Tommie Jackson, 69, was killed on Wednesday, July 26. He was a pastor at Rehoboth Fellowship Church and Religion Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church and was actively concerned in the neighborhood. His spouse is a Stamford police commissioner, and he was town’s assistant director of the City Redevelopment Fee.
Stamford Assistant Police Chief Silas Redd stated Jackson was a “pal and accomplice” to the division. Nonetheless, Jackson’s household legal professional believes the officer from that division who fatally struck him was at fault.
Based on the state investigators, Stamford Police Officer Zachary Lockwood was responding to an accident together with his lights on when he struck Jackson close to his house on Wire Mill Highway round 4:10 p.m.
The state police discovered that Lockwood, 24, was driving eastbound on Wire Mill Highway when he encountered Jackson crossing the highway after retrieving gadgets from his mailbox. Whereas reportedly making an attempt to keep away from the collision, Lockwood swerved into the westbound lane. He instantly carried out CPR on Jackson till medics arrived. Jackson was later pronounced useless at Stamford Hospital.
Particulars relating to Lockwood’s pace on the time of the crash weren’t disclosed by the state police. Nonetheless, in accordance with “customary protocol.” Lockwood, a Stamford officer since April 2022, was positioned on paid administrative go away and provided peer help from the division, in accordance with Connecticut State Police Lt. Katharine Cummings.
Jackson’s household legal professional and buddies have questioned how the officer might make a mistake and hit the person who was “large and tall and powerful.”
“What my investigation is telling me is that he presumably was distracted on the time of the accident,” stated legal professional Darnell Crosland. “If the truth is he was distracted, if the truth is we discover out extra proof that leads us to imagine that he was at fault, greater than an accident, then I’m unsure why we’d dim the lights on the main target, which is the sufferer, which is Reverend Dr. Jackson.”
His passing has impacted the neighborhood as tributes from municipal officers, buddies, and clergy have poured in.
“He was a larger-than-life determine, somebody who had an indelible impression on our neighborhood and somebody who touched the lives of so many by his lifelong dedication to religion and public service,” Mayor Caroline Simmons stated at a information convention on Friday. “We’re all mourning collectively, and I do know I’m going to vastly miss his infectious smile, his power, his fantastic humorousness.”
Because the investigation continues, Stamford Police Chief Timothy Shaw requested for persistence from the general public whereas awaiting solutions in regards to the circumstances surrounding Jackson’s demise.
“All of us need solutions as to what occurred this week,” Shaw stated. “I do know that the experience of the state police main crimes and collision reconstruction groups will lead to solutions to our questions.”
