State rests its case against former Stamford officer on trial for deadly crash; defendant to testify
Former officer Zachary Lockwood, 27, is charged with misconduct with a motor vehicle for a deadly on-duty crash on Wire Mill Road in Stamford that killed Rev. Tommie Jackson on July 26, 2023.
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The prosecution rested its case Tuesday in the trial of Zachary Lockwood, a former Stamford police officer charged in a crash that killed a local pastor, and Lockwood told the judge he does intend to testify.
Lockwood, 27, is charged with misconduct with a motor vehicle in the July 2023 crash that killed Tommie Jackson, 69, a well-known local pastor.
The state's final witness was Dr. Gregory Vincent, the associate medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Jackson.
Vincent testified Jackson sustained several injuries, with the most serious being his skull separated from his neck, causing internal decapitation, and distention of his brain stem. Jackson also suffered rib fractures, a lacerated aorta, blood around his lungs, bruising on his lungs and a lacerated liver, Vincent said. He told the jury the cause of death was "blunt injuries of the head, neck, torso and upper extremities," and the manner was "accident."
The crash happened on Wire Mill Road in Stamford, a residential, curvy street where Jackson lived. The pastor had just gone to his mailbox across the street and was walking back when Lockwood hit him.
On Monday, Trooper Ryan Hackett testified Lockwood was going as fast as 65 mph a couple of seconds before hitting Jackson and 46 mph with the brake applied at impact. The speed limit on Wire Mill Road is 25 mph.
Lockwood was on his way to a call at the time and had been dispatched to use Code 1, a nonemergency response that means going with the flow of traffic and not using lights and sirens. Last week, the jury heard dispatch audio relaying that the incident involved “an old truck versus Toyota Camry” in a back lot on Hope Street. The dispatcher also said the truck driver had left but returned with four or five men who were harassing the Toyota’s driver.
Lockwood decided to upgrade his response, speeding and using his lights and sirens intermittently. Dashcam video from Lockwood’s police SUV shows him on speakerphone and complaining about the traffic to another officer who was also on the way.
“I’m going to f—ing Code 3 over there, dude. I’m all the way over on High Ridge right now,” Lockwood says.
“Oh damn! Don’t go Code 3! Go Code 2,” the officer responds.
According to the video, despite what Lockwood says, he does not upgrade to Code 3 and goes Code 2.
A Code 2 response is for urgent calls, during which officers use their lights and sirens at intersections and when encountering traffic, according to testimony from Stamford police. A Code 3 response is an emergency where police use their lights and sirens continuously. There are no speeds assigned to each code, according to the testimony.
Hackett testified Lockwood had his lights on at the time of the crash but not his sirens.
Lockwood’s trial is being held at Milford Superior Court because the case was transferred from Stamford after his arraignment due to potential conflicts of interest with the Stamford State’s Attorney’s Office. Last year, Lockwood turned down a plea offer that included two years in prison and a condition he not be recertified as an officer. He lost his job with Stamford police after an internal investigation.
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