Rob Ford
'embarrassed' but gives no sign that he will step down after video published
showing him staggering and shouting
theguardian.com,
Karen McVeigh in New York, Thursday 7 November 2013
 |
| Toronto mayor Rob Ford makes a statement to the media outside his office at Toronto's city hall after the video's release. Photograph: Chris Young/AP |
Rob Ford,
the mayor of Toronto who this week admitted to having smoked crack cocaine, has
become embroiled in a fresh controversy after the publication of a video which
shows him shouting abuse and making threats.
Ford
apologised to the people of Toronto on Tuesday after making his extraordinary
crack cocaine admission, but has refused to bow to mounting pressure from
federal and council officials to step down and get help for his problems.
A new
video, published by the Toronto Star on Thursday, shows Ford staggering around
a room, talking to someone out of sight.
“I’m gonna
kill that fucking guy. I’m telling you, it’s first-degree murder,” Ford rants,
in a tirade directed at an unknown person. "No hold barred, bro. He dies
or I die, brother. … I’ll rip his fucking throat out. I’ll poke his eyes out …
I’ll make sure that motherfucker’s dead,” Ford says, gesticulating with his
hands as if engaged in a violent fight.
At one
point, Ford says: "My brothers are ... don't tell me we're liars, thieves,
birds," suggesting that he is angry with someone who has spoken out about
his family. His brother, Doug, is a city councillor.
Ford's
chief of staff, Earl Provost, said he could not comment on the video. "I'm
sorry. I cannot talk about this," Provost told the Star.
The mayor
told reporters shortly after the video was published that he was
"extremely, extremely inebriated" in it and "embarrassed"
by it. Ford said he had made mistakes. "All I can do is reassure the
people. I don't know what to say," he said.
Last week,
Toronto police announced that investigators had recovered two video clips
relevant to extortion charges laid against the mayor's associate Alexander
“Sandro” Lisi. One of those videos shows the mayor smoking what appears to be
crack.
The Star,
which disclosed it had paid for the video, said there was no suggestion that
this was the second one referred to by police last week.
The city
council, which does not have the authority to remove a sitting mayor from office, is examining other ways to try and remove some of his powers from Ford.
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