Apparently Frank Finn is not a fan of Steven Greenhut

The following was sent to me via a post and I found it interesting to post and share. Apparently Orange City Council Candidate Frank "The Heat" Finn, doesn't think Mr. Steven Greenhut is a very good reporter...as a matter of fact he refers to him as a "hack".

Read the whole story and Frank Finn's response.

I personally think Greenhut is a great writer that exposes the misuse of taxpayers money for all kinds of abuse. Abuse from sweetheart retirement deals to looking the other way on workers comp fraud.

Well, judge for yourself and read on....To Mr. Finn, remember your a candidate for elective office, be careful about what you write. Could haunt you later.


September 08, 2006
Nonsense about 'armchair police'
From Steven Greenhut:

It's common now, in the wake of the Huntington Beach shooting death of Ashley MacDonald, for police and their apologists to insist that we not second-guess them. I've got a column about this Sunday, but this point is worth making now: Police defenders are the ones who are rushing to judgment. I have heard from many who insist that there was nothing wrong with what those HB cops did. A so-called "expert" makes this point in the Register today. Obviously, these folks have rushed to the same judgment they always reach: that the cops are always right or even when they're wrong, it's understandable whatever they did. The apologists don't want us not to rush to judgment, they simply want those of us who question their behavior to shut up and go away.


Posted at September 8, 2006 01:16 PM

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Comments
Mr. Greenhut,
There would be no need for police apologists if there were no hack reporters ready to pounce on any pursuit, shooting, or use of force by officer's having to make split second decisions trying to protect the public from harm. I have never read your work prior to this series on the H.B. incident so I will give you the benefit of the doubt that you are not one of those hacks (something you apparently haven't done for the H.B. officers). If you consider yourself a legitimate journalist, I would hope you have done at least a modicum of research into police procedures and the threat presented by a person with a knife (be they parolee, martial arts expert, crazed drug user or irrational 18 year old girl who just stabbed her mother and by the way, you don't know which on initial contact).
It sounds like you are the one rushing to judgment when you make the blanket statement "Obviously, these folks have rushed to the same judgment THEY ALWAYS REACH: that the cops are always right or even when they're wrong it's understandable whatever they did". I only request that you exercise the same understanding and restraint, that the press in general seems to afford known gang members when they quote family & friends who say " yeah, he has had problems but he was getting his life together" after he has been killed by another gang banger, or how you are so careful to qualify everything with "the alleged " shooter, bank robber, rapist, etc. after they were arrested at the scene with the evidence still in their hands. I only ask that you stop the rhetoric and allow the investigation to be completed before you rush to judgment and irresponsibly fan the flames of controversy.
Contrary to what I have read in your blogs, police officers are held to a higher standard then “alleged” journalists as has been demonstrated by the NY Times in recent years. Despite your obvious disdain for police, we are not a bunch of knuckle dragging gun nuts hoping to get a chance to shoot someone (those officers have to wake up each morning knowing they took a life). We are intelligent, well meaning individuals who spend each day trying to make life a little better for everyone (including you) and hoping to go home to our families at the end of shift. We are the last ones to want rogue cops to be out there since they only make our job harder. I only wish reporters were held to the same standard. It must be nice to have the luxury of thinking everything is ok after you print a retraction on page 103 a week after smearing someone on the front page.


Posted by: Frank Finn at September 9, 2006 03:31 AM