Former Dallas Police Department Chief Hopes Police and Community Can Close the Gap

Lenny Hall is an unsolved murder I'm not a stranger in the case.

Hall was six months old when his father was killedin a Detroit job. To date, hismurder remains unresolved. 

"My goal is to prevent anyone else from overcoming the same level of trauma," saidHall. I told Jim Axelrod on CBS News.

Despite the death of his father, Hall pursued a career in law enforcement. A few years later, Hall became a Detroit police officer at the age of 28. She became the Dallas Police Department Chief and she led an army of more than 3,600 sworn police officers.

However, coupled with national anxiety after George Floyd's was killed in Minneapolis in 2020, the pandemic broke trust between Hall police and the Dallas community. rice field.

"If this is a broken relationship, how do you go to your house when the murder is committed and promise to resolve the crime when you don't trust me as a police officer? Are you a uniformed policeman? "Hall said.

Murder cases surged in Dallas while Hall was the police chief. This tendency was clear all over the country. However, according to Dallas Police figures, Hall's detectives resolved more than 70% of the murders. This is 20 points higher than the national average.

"One of the first things I did with my team was to meet them and say," I don't want to go to the community where we have a great relationship. Our relationship challenges. Go to the community that has been. "Started from there.

The next step in the hall: tackle her own rank and file diversity.

"Since most of our community was Hispanic, we are under my leadership 17% of police stations, 18% Latin Americans, about 24% from Hispanics. "

Despite Hall's efforts at the police station, murders still occurred and some were unforgettable.

In 2020, a one-year-old boy named, Rory Norman,during a surge in murders at his home in Dallas. Was shot dead. 

"I went to the hospital and saw his body, his very small body," Hall said. "It was annoying."

No arrests were made in this case. This is the fact that Hall calls "disappointment."

"There is some damage to the number of guns in our city," Hall said. "There is some disruption in the relationship between the police and the community. So what are we going to do about it at this point? It needs work and we own a flawed place. , Need to fix it. "