She wasn’t just breaking the law — she was advocating against it.

The Westchester County police bigwig accused of chaperoning her gangbanging son to an attempted murder had spent years rubbing elbows with criminals, both through controversial inmate aid programs she founded and in her former marriage to a drug-peddling ex-con.

Somehow, Jennifer Lackard landed a cushy job as a deputy police commissioner in Mount Vernon even as she looked the other way while her gang-banging son started wreaking havoc in the Big Apple.

Lackard, 49, is now facing attempted murder charges for allegedly driving her troublemaking son to a drive-by gang shooting outside a Bronx court last month, with her ex-con hubby along for the ride.

The disgraced and newly fired cop was indicted in the brazen June 29 shooting, along with her son, 20-year-old Chase Lackard — a reputed member of the “Slutty Gang” once charged for pointing a gun at NYPD cops — and her drug-peddling husband, James Lackard, 47, who remains on the run from police.

Jennifer Lackard was hired in 2020 to head up the Mount Vernon Police Department’s Wellness Unit by Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard, a position reportedly created for her. She had no real law enforcement experience but instead had resume that showed she worked in inmate re-entry programs and as an advocate for accused criminals.

Lackard landed the gig, which carried a $125,000 base salary for this year, with records showing she had never been arrested herself.

In a statement Wednesday, Patterson-Howard said Lackard underwent a “rigorous background check” that included a check of prior employment, fingerprinting, financial disclosers, medical clearance and a criminal background check — and was deemed qualified.

“There was no information that disqualified her from employment,” the mayor said. “As part of the hiring process, information regarding her husband’s prior criminal history was disclosed and reviewed and deemed not to be disqualifying her for her civilian position.”

She cited Lackard’s 15 years of experience in mental health and substance abuse services.

“No employer can predict future personal conduct,” she added. “Mount Vernon has faced multiple challenges before and we have always responded with accountability, transparency, and resilience. We remain committed to those principles as this matter proceeds through the criminal justice system….”

It is unclear how the two women met, but both attend Grace Baptist Church, an influential and politically powerful Mount Vernon church that carries great weight in the city.

Sources said Mount Vernon cops joined Lackard at a Bronx hospital after Chase Lackard was shot in the chest during a confrontation on a city bus in 2023 in a reputed gang-related shooting.

The Lackards’ arrest on Tuesday marks the latest stain on the troubled suburban city, which has seen two sitting mayors arrested while in office and a string of police department controversies in recent years, according to reports by lohud.com.

Several Mount Vernon cops have been in hot water this year, including a bust in April that accused one officer of stealing more than $800,000 from an out-of-state company. One month earlier, another cop on the force was charged with larceny and allegedly tipping off a Suffolk County gang member.

Another officer with 15 years on the job was charged with stalking in Florida in March.

Last month, a cop in the Westchester city was hit with drunk driving and speeding charges in Queens, lohud reported.

The two mayors — Ernie Davis and Richard Thomas — were both forced to leave office after being charged with federal tax evasion and state grand larceny charges, respectively.

“Our city experienced a series of events in recent weeks that should concern every resident, every taxpayer, every business owner, and every public servant,” Mount Vernon Councilman Andre Wallace said in a statement following Jennifer Lackard’s arrest.

“Regardless of political affiliations or personal opinions, we must acknowledge that these events are damaging the reputation of our city and making it increasingly difficult for Mount Vernon to conduct business,” Wallace wrote. “The headlines coming out of Mount Vernon are no longer about opportunity, economic development or neighborhood revitalization.”

Records show that Jennifer and James Lackard in 2007 founded Ivy House Center for Self-Sufficiency in WInston-Salem, North Carolina, a government-funded nonprofit program that counseled criminal defendants with mental health illness or substance abuse addictions.

Jennifer Lackard served as CEO while her then-husband sat on the advisory board until 2009.

After shutting down that program, she moved to New York and founded another one, Re-Entry Link LLC in the Bronx, where she also served on Community Board 9 before landing the Mount Vernon job.

Meanwhile, her son was starting to build up a rap sheet in the five boroughs.

Records show he was the victim of a shooting after confronting a group on a Bronx bust on Jan. 21, 2023, and was rushed to Jacobi Hospital and later recovered.

In November 2024, Chase Lackard was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and menacing after allegedly pulling a gun on NYPD cops in the Bronx, and was wounded in the left leg — the case he was in court for on the day of the courthouse shooting.

In August 2024, he was arrested in Manhattan and charged with possession of a loaded gun.

On June 29, prosecutors said he left Bronx court and hopped into a waiting gray Chrysler Pacifica with both his parents inside, changed clothes and the family circled the block.

Eventually, prosecutors said he spotted his intended target and fired from the window of the SUV, with his mom allegedly then driving him back home.

Chase Lackard’s girlfriend, Brianna Harris, was taken into custody when he was arrested and released without bail on a lesser charge.

Additional reporting by Larry Celona