TORONTO MAYOR ROB FORD makes a statement to the media outside his office after the release of a video on Thursday.
Moments after the video was posted online, the mayor told reporters that he was “extremely, extremely inebriated” in it and “embarrassed” by it. The context of the video is unknown, and it’s unclear who the target of Ford’s wrath is. The video appeared at length on the Toronto Star’s website.
City councilors moved ahead in efforts to force Ford out of office, although there is no clear legal path for doing so.
Ford’s mother defended him later Thursday, saying she has advised him to work on his “huge weight problem,” get a driver, put an alcohol detector in his car and watch the company he keeps. But she insisted that her son, who has acknowledged a drinking problem, did not need to enter rehab.
The controversy surrounding Ford escalated last week when police announced they had obtained a different, longsought video that shows Ford smoking a crack pipe. After months of evading the question, Ford admitted Tuesday to smoking crack in a “drunken stupor” about a year ago.
Despite immense pressure, the mayor has refused to resign or take a leave of absence.
The 44-year-old Ford, who is married with two schoolage children, said Thursday he made mistakes and “all I can do is reassure the people. I don’t know what to say.”
“It’s extremely embarrassing. The whole world is going to see it,” he said.
In the blurry, shaky new video, Ford paces around, frantically waves his arms and rolls up his sleeves as he says he’ll “make sure” the unknown person is dead.
Ford tells another person in the room that he wants to “kill” someone. “Cause I’m going to kill that (expletive) guy,” Ford says. “No holds barred, brother. He dies or I die.”
At one point he says, “My brothers are, don’t tell me we’re liars, thieves, birds” and then later refers to “80- year-old birds.”
The Toronto Star said that it bought the video for $5,000 from “a source who filmed it from someone else’s computer.” The newspaper said it was told “the person with the computer was there in the room.”
City Councilor James Pasternak urged Ford to make a “dignified exit.”
“The video is very disturbing,” he said. “It’s very upsetting, it’s very sad.”
But Ford lawyer Dennis Morris told The Associated Press the context of the video “is skeletal.” “Was it taken eight, 10 months ago or a short time ago?” he said.
Earlier Thursday, Morris said he was in talks with the police for Ford to view the video that appears to show the mayor smoking crack. Morris said Ford would not answer questions.
Police obtained that video during a drug investigation into the mayor’s friend and occasional driver.
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