Who Has Her Back? Has She Lost Public Support? 7 Questions for Dallas Police Chief U. Renee Hall

Since she got here from Detroit 18 months ago, Dallas Police Chief U. Renee Hall has proven herself to be a personable — but too often guarded and inaccessible — top cop.But last week — as some Dallas community leaders questioned her decision-making — she opened up about the March 21 Deep Ellum beating case and the bigger themes of her administration.What she faces is serious. The only lighthearted moment in my interview with Hall came when I suggested that she has faced quite the trial by fire.“Oh, my,” she said, before breaking into a long warm laugh, “It has been challenging.”But then her voice took on a prayerful tone: “I am a child of God and I believe that I have been called for such a time as this.”She told me rebuilding the relationship between law enforcement and citizens is both the job she was hired to do and deeply personal. Her father, a police officer, died when she was 6 months old, “and that cannot be in vain,” she said.  Continue reading...