Susan Hawk

Dallas County District Attorney Susan Hawk has taken issue with one important part of the story we published online Sunday. Here's the way Jamie Thompson reported the details of the most intense period of Hawk's treatment for depression:

[Hawk] says she began thinking of ways to kill herself. She studied the blow-dryer in her room. Was the cord long enough to strangle herself? What about the strap on her purse? That night she told a nurse, “I’m going to kill myself anyway. Just let me go home.” But once she uttered those words, she no longer could leave the facility voluntarily. Hawk was officially committed. She was placed under one-on-one supervision, a nurse following her at every moment, to every class, to every meal. At night, a nurse sat beside her bed, watching her sleep.

Hawk now says that's not what happened. Here's the way ABC Channel 8 put it:

Hawk … issued a statement, disputing the notion that she was ever in the facility involuntarily during the nine weeks she was there. “I was there voluntarily the entire time,” the statement said. “To say that I was there involuntarily at any point is factually wrong.”

First, I'd like to emphasize that what we reported is what Hawk told us. And in our fact-checking process, Jamie read that passage back to Hawk to make sure it was accurate. Hawk didn't object at the time. Here's some more context to understand what happened when Hawk was in treatment and how she described it to Jamie. To provide more details, Jamie went back to her notes from a 10-hour interview she conducted with Hawk.

On her first day back at the DA's office after two months of treatment for depression, Susan Hawk held a brief press conference, said she was excited to be back and stronger than ever, and then took no questions. Last night, Texas Monthly put online a 4,500-word Hawk story written by Skip Hollandsworth. He got some good quotes, some of them anonymous. If you've been following the story from the start, there isn't much new. What is new is the take from the Texas Observer. Headline of a 1,200-word post by Amy McCarthy: "Sexism, Stigma and Susan Hawk: Let’s Find a New Way to Talk About the Dallas DA." The first sentence tells you pretty much everything you need to know about this thing: "There was no hotter topic in the Dallas political gossip mill this summer than the 'disappearance' of Susan Hawk, Dallas’ newly-elected district attorney." If you'll allow me, I'd like to examine the quotes around the word "disappearance."

Head Shop Owners Arrested Over K2 Sales. Last summer DEA agents seized cash, cars, and synthetic marijuana from the Gas Pipe and its owners. Yesterday, those owners, Gerald "Jerry" Shults and his daughter, Amy Lynn Herrig, were arrested and charged with conspiring to sell the substance known as K2. Both Shults and Herrig are in federal custody and deny the allegations. Van Mayor Criticized for Golfing. The city of Van was devastated by a tornado a few days ago. So people are pretty upset that mayor Dean Stone missed a scheduled press conference yesterday to play golf. Not a great look. Some Places Have More Home Burglaries Than Others. The fine folks at our local CBS affiliate put together a map of the which zip codes in North Texas have the most home burglaries. Bad news for the people in East Fort Worth, Southeast Dallas, and East Plano. District Attorney Will Hold Town Hall Meeting in Pleasant Grove. In anticipation of tonight's forum, the Dallas Morning News put out a long-ish story rehashing the paper's editorial complaints about Susan Hawk, which have more to do with her not answering the paper's questions about her time in rehab than any specific policies or cases. There's mention of what seems like a minor car accident and an unfiled financial report, and there are no fewer than 12 references (not counting the headline) to Hawk not answering questions or not commenting for the story. This is what it looks like when newspaper reporters don't get the interview they were hoping for. Oh Man I Miss Ron Washington. The former Texas Rangers manager, who resigned last Fall, has apparently been helping out with the University of New Orleans baseball team, in his hometown. Yesterday the 62-year-old Washington was spotted in the UNO dugout wearing a bright orange shirt that read MY BUCKET LIST: 1. Beer 2. Ice. In other news, the Rangers beat the Royals.

Friends and colleagues say she went to rehab for a pill addiction and that she "needs help."