Toronto Mayor Rob Ford had only been in B.C. for a few hours before he kicked off yet another media frenzy.
Ford, who is in Metro Vancouver for a funeral, was ticketed by the RCMP for jaywalking in the Burquitlam area, which straddles the border between Coquitlam and Burnaby.
In a phone interview with the Toronto Sun, Ford said he was crossing the street near his hotel, on his way to a Chinese restaurant, when he was ticketed.
“I was speechless,” he told the Sun. “I am perplexed.”
While he was being written up for the ticket, members of the public began to gather and have their photos taken with the embattled mayor. In photos posted online, Ford appeared to be wearing the same suit and tie he wore when he arrived at Vancouver airport earlier in the day.
Global B.C. spoke to one of the witnesses, Ian Currie, who saw the mayor getting ticketed and ran over to speak to him.
“He said, ‘Boys, I f---ed up,’” Currie told Global, adding that Ford also said, “I thought it was looser on the West Coast. I thought you were cooler over here.”
Global B.C. reported that Ford was ticketed for public intoxication as well as jaywalking, but later retracted that he was cited for public drunkenness, and in his interview with the Sun Ford denied he’d been drinking.
“All I have had here is a Diet Coke,” Ford told the Sun, adding that the jaywalking ticket was “a waste of taxpayers’ money.” He said he felt police “went out of their way to do this.”
Global is reporting that Ford’s press secretary, Amin Massoudi, confirmed that Ford was issued a ticket for jaywalking and nothing more.
The ticket will set Ford back $109.
When contacted about the incident, E Division RCMP spokesman Sgt. Rob Vermeulen emailed the following statement: “The RCMP does not routinely disclose or publicly comment on matters that do not involve criminal code or other serious offenses including violation tickets. This policy is applied for all individuals regardless of who they are. We have no further comment.”
Visitors to the nearby Foggy Dew Pub have also posted videos and photos of Ford partying in the pub Friday night. On Saturday evening a manager of the pub refused to comment on Ford’s visit to the establishment. But a Vancouver strip-club tried to tap into the Ford-buzz, tweeting an invitation to the Toronto mayor and posting a sign promising to “validate” jaywalking tickets. The Ford outing has shown up in several hashtags, including #whatwashethinking, #iputthefuninfuneral, #sowasted, #robfording, #robfordresolutions as well as simply #robford.
Ford is in the Metro Vancouver area to attend a funeral for the mother of friend and former director of operations and logistics David Price, who was with him during the jaywalking incident.
A ticket for jaywalking would seem to be the least of Ford’s troubles. Earlier this week an ex-boyfriend of Ford’s sister filed a lawsuit claiming the mayor conspired to have him attacked in jail to prevent his illicit behaviours from becoming publicly known.
Scott MacIntyre alleges in his statement of claim that Ford arranged for jail staff to facilitate the beating. MacIntyre was jailed in early 2012 after pleading guilty to a charge of threatening the mayor.
It was there in March 2012 that he was brutally beaten, more than a year before the Toronto Star and U.S. website Gawker reported on the existence of a video appearing to show the mayor smoking crack cocaine.
None of MacIntyre’s allegations have been proven in court, and Ford’s lawyer, Dennis Morris, says “They’re without fact or foundation.”
The mayor, however, has admitted to consuming too much alcohol on occasion, as well as smoking crack cocaine, likely in a “drunken stupor,” and to smoking marijuana.
One of his friends, Alexander Lisi, is facing drug charges as well as an extortion charge for alleged attempts to retrieve the notorious crack video.
Toward the end of last year, as Ford became a punchline for relentless gags by late-night comics, his embarrassing behaviour finally prompted city councillors to strip him of most of his mayoral powers.
If you have any information about this incident or any other Rob Ford incidents in the Vancouver area, call The Province at 604-605-2030 or email us at [email protected].
— With a file from The Canadian Press
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