For the profile of U. Reneé Hall that she wrote for the May issue of D Magazine, Jamie Thompson first met the Dallas police chief in September. Jamie got to tag along with the chief and watch how she operated in the earliest weeks of her new job. We initially thought the story would run in January. But then complications got in the way. Jamie took on another project. There were some additional questions for the chief as she disbanded the vice unit and then became harder to gain access to. Jamie didn’t reconnect with Hall until several months later. In some ways, she encountered a changed woman. Hall’s time in Dallas had not gone without hiccups. There were questions about why it was taking so long for her to pass the exam that would allow her to wear a uniform. Hall said that her treatment in Dallas had so upset her mother that she hadn’t yet come to visit her daughter here.
The story went online today. Looking back, I’m glad we weren’t able to keep with our original plan to publish. The extra time brought into a focus a much more nuanced look at our new chief — a woman unafraid, as it turns out, to strike a pose.
