Dallas City Wire

Dallas’ next chief of police will be expected to take a balanced approach to dealing with protests, ensuring their right to make their voices heard is respected, while protecting property rights as well.

Catherine Cuellar, the director of communications, outreach and marketing for the city, responded to Dallas City Wire’s questions directed to the city manager as the city looked to replace Police Chief U. Reneé Hall, who announced her resignation on Sept. 8.

“DPD will continue to protect the First Amendment rights of peaceful demonstrators, while also keeping our residents, businesses and private property safe by preventing vandalism, burglary and other criminal mischief,” she said.

Will Dallas be able to interview and hire a new chief by then? Will an officer now on the department be promoted to lead the city’s 5,000 men and women in uniform? Or will an interim chief be named?

“Chief Hall will continue to lead until the end of the year," Cuellar said. “As announced, the city manager is devising the criteria for the next police chief before announcing the selection process. Until a recruitment process is developed, it’s difficult to know exactly if an interim chief will be needed or when a new chief will be appointed.”

Hall is not alone in leaving her department following urban unrest this year. Police chiefs in Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; Atlanta, Georgia; Louisville, Kentucky; and Rochester, New York resigned or were forced out in the wake of rioting and the police response.

Hall originally said she would leave Nov. 10. After meeting with City Manager T.C. Broadnax, she agreed to stay until Dec. 31.

“I am extremely grateful to Chief Hall for extending her time in Dallas. This year has been tumultuous and uncertain,” Broadnax said in a statement. “A few more months of her leadership are key for several projects and for a seamless transition within the police department.”

Hall said she was weighing “a number of inquiries about future career opportunities,” and was committed to remaining in her “true calling” in law enforcement. She noted it had been a tumultuous time.

“These past three years have been saturated with a series of unimaginable events that individually and collectively have never happened in the city of Dallas,” she wrote in her one-page resignation letter. “I am proud that this department has not only coped with an unthinkable series of events, but we also managed to implement critical reforms.”

Hall arrived in Dallas on Sept. 5, 2017. She was the first woman, and first woman of color, to lead the department. She had been deputy police of chief in her native Detroit before coming to Dallas.

After announcing her resignation, Hall listed her improvements and reforms on the department Twitter page.

She said crime in Dallas dropped 5.7% in 2017 and violent crime was down 5.97% in 2018. A targeted Violent Crime Plan was instituted in 2020, and overall crime decreased 3.98%.

Working to close homicide cases was effective, as 80% were listed as closed, compared to the national rate of 60%.

Hall disbanded the department’s vice unit and started a new one focused focus on reducing prostitution and human trafficking, assisting victims through community courts and private partners to access services.

She also said the department updated use of force policies, instituted a mandate to issue a warning before using deadly force, and pushed for advances in technology and innovation, including increased use of body cameras.

Hall also pushed for higher starting pay and competitive salaries for her officers while also offering improved health and wellness programs. She increased the number of Hispanic officers from 19% of the force to 24%.

The chief also worked to improve community relations, according to the release.

Broadnax offered praise of Hall after she announced her resignation.

“When you review Chief Hall’s Dallas record, there aren’t enough superlatives to describe the impact she’s had here,” he said. “While Dallas, like cities nationwide, is struggling with violent crime, our overall crime rate is down, and Chief Hall created long-term tools and partnerships that will help keep Dallas safe in the future. Additionally, she fought for change in processes, rules and protocols within DPD that successfully put us on the path to best in class 21st Century Policing.”

But the fallout from the Dallas Police Department’s handling of protests following George Floyd’s death while in the custody of Minneapolis police officers on May 25 overshadowed her accomplishments.

Protests broke out across the country, and in Dallas, they came to a head at the historic Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. Hundreds of people were arrested, although charges were later dismissed against almost all of them.

Police used tear gas to turn back protesters, although Hall at first denied the chemical agent was used. The department later acknowledged it had used tear gas, blaming a “breakdown in communications” for the false statement.

Six police officers and two citizens were injured in the protests, which lasted May 29-June 1. The total damage to property was estimated at $5 million.

Hall admitted her performance was substandard, giving herself a C+ as a grade. A report on the riot and police response was not well-received.

Several city officials, including Councilman Omar Narvaez, said they were extremely disappointed in her work and leadership.

“I was a big champion for you chief, saying that there was no tear gas used on that bridge. I had to do a mea culpa publicly because I was told, and you also told us, that there was no tear gas used on that bridge,” Narvaez said at a public safety meeting Aug. 18. "I can tell you that I'm outraged as a council member and I'm outraged as a person who lives in the city of Dallas that even in this report, I don't know who to trust. Hall, you are our top cop. And I have lost the trust.”

Mike Mata, head of the Dallas Police Association, has been a persistent critic of Hall, and that did not end when she said she was leaving the department.

Mata said crime increased and morale was down. He said Hall did not provide the leadership that was needed.

The department has three unions, with the DPA joined by the National Latino Law Enforcement Organization Dallas Chapter and the Black Police Association of Greater Dallas.

In 2019 the Latino police union called for Hall to resign, saying she was “incompetent and over her head.”

Black Police Association of Greater Dallas President Terrance Hopkins has consistently supported Hall and said he was shocked and saddened by her departure.

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, who said he had not with or talked to her, praised the departing chief.

“I know that people who commit themselves to careers as police officers face immense challenges and must be willing to make tremendous sacrifices,” Johnson said in a statement. "We demand much from them and especially from our police leaders – and rightfully so because the stakes are incredibly high. On top of those demands, Chief Hall had the burden and the distinction of being the first woman – a woman of color, no less – to serve as the police chief in Dallas.”