Priceless Reporting

'Tis but a trifle, I know, but could somebody please explain this to me:

"I don't judge people. My job is to talk to them and get them into custody if they're out there and they could be dangerous, to hand them over to investigators. And that's where it stops."

His willingness to speak his mind and call it like he sees it has earned Mr. Poirier a reputation for fairness and impartiality.

"I've never been one to be cozy with the police. The police never call me -- only sometimes if they're stuck," he said.

"I've never taken the side of the police or for the criminal underworld. I just report the facts, and now I do commentary." [my emphasis]

If Monsieur Poirier only reports the facts, and if he makes all this fuss about not judging people, it would seem to me that it is precisely his unwillingness to speak his mind or to call it like he sees it that has earned him this little reputation.

... In any case, it's always nice to hear that a "68-year-old plain-spoken chain-smoker" is making good. I look forward to tomorrow's letters-to-the-editor condemning the Post roundly for such flagrant pro-smoking propaganda.