The judge’s gavel hadn’t even finished echoing through the Bronx courtroom before the next shock hit. I stood there, stunned, watching the news report flash across the screen—a woman in a sharp blazer, a former deputy commissioner of public safety, being led into the very courthouse where her son had allegedly opened fire just days earlier. Jennifer LaCour was 49 years old. For 20 years, she had built a career around healing communities, serving on Community Board 9, advocating for wellness programs, and earning praise for her work during the George Floyd protests.
She was appointed deputy commissioner of wellness for Mount Vernon in 2020. Her life’s work was public safety. Her son, 20-year-old Chase, was an alleged gang member with a court appearance scheduled for a gun charge. On June 29th, around noon, surveillance cameras captured the family leaving their Soundview apartment together.
Jennifer, her husband James, and Chase drove toward the Bronx Criminal Courthouse. Chase had a court date. But instead of walking inside to face his charges, prosecutors say he pulled out a gun and fired at rival gang members right behind the building, in broad daylight, in the middle of a workday. And then the part that made my jaw drop: prosecutors say Jennifer got behind the wheel and drove him away.
Not as a frantic mother making a terrible split-second decision. No—the footage allegedly showed her parked in front of the courthouse for about five minutes before the shooting, waiting. Then, after the shots rang out, she became the getaway driver. The city of Mount Vernon moved fast.
They terminated her employment effective immediately. Their statement was cold, clinical: the allegations were unrelated to her duties and did not stem from any conduct associated with the department. Her attorney pushed back. He said the picture prosecutors painted was completely different from her life and her career.
She pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and attempted assault charges. The judge set bail at $75,000. She’ll be back in court in September. I sat there watching this, and I couldn’t help but think about my own mother.
If I had ever done something like that—if she saw me shooting at somebody—my mom would have kicked me out of the car. Probably called the police on me herself. She had high expectations, and she didn’t play games. She would have said, “Come get my son, he’s over here.
”
But now we’re living in a timeline where parents are expected to cover for their kids no matter what. Where a woman who spent two decades in public safety allegedly risked everything to help her son flee after a gang shooting. The story didn’t end there. We switched over to Minnesota, where another law enforcement official found herself in the crosshairs.
Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt said federal officials threatened to arrest her personally. The Department of Homeland Security had hand-delivered letters starting back in July, warning she could face witness tampering charges if her jail didn’t fully cooperate with ICE deportation requests. Sheriff Witt’s position was clear: Hennepin County Jail would cooperate with ICE if agents obtained a judicial warrant for an individual’s arrest. That wasn’t good enough for the feds.
They said she was harboring dangerous criminals and releasing them into the community. They pointed to six cases involving undocumented immigrants charged or convicted of serious crimes. Witt didn’t back down. In a social media post, she said the threats wouldn’t cause her to abandon her legal responsibilities or disregard the Constitution.
She said her focus would remain on protecting Hennepin County residents and keeping communities safe. Her words were firm: “I will not stray from that mission in the face of intimidation. ”
Homeland Security fired back: “Non-cooperative jurisdictions have a choice. Stop harboring illegal criminal aliens and releasing them into their communities or work with ICE to make America safe again.
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Two sheriffs, two completely different battles with ICE. In Minnesota, a sheriff threatened with arrest for not working with them. In New York, a sheriff determined to work with them despite the law telling him not to. Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood was one of 12 sheriffs or chiefs warned by New York’s attorney general about a new law ending their existing agreements with ICE.
But Hood said it wouldn’t stop his office. “I wish our governor and our attorney general were on the same page as keeping people safe,” he said. He credited the controversial partnership with getting seven undocumented immigrants off the streets. Their charges included robbery, DWI, weapons offenses, and even first-degree rape.
“Imagine something like that happening to one of your family members,” he said. “You would want the police working together. And there’s the divide where they’re not allowing that to happen in New York state. ”
While the formal agreement with ICE was ending, Hood made it clear the only thing really changing was the paperwork.
“I’m still going to contact ICE when we have somebody come in here that’s illegal and committed a crime. They’re going to come get them, and we’re going to hand them off. ”
Three stories. Three law enforcement officials going against the grain.
A mother as a getaway driver for her son. A sheriff refusing federal threats. A sheriff refusing state orders. I keep coming back to that first story though.
That’s the one that really got me. A mother’s job is supposed to protect her children, but where’s the line? When does protection become complicity? When does love turn into covering up a crime?
My mom would have told on me in a heartbeat. She wouldn’t have even hesitated. I guess that’s the difference. Some parents raise their kids to face consequences.
Others raise them to run.
