TORONTO - Mayor Rob Ford raised the stakes Thursday in the Ford brothers all-out war of words with Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair.
Ford dared Blair to arrest him, endorsed Councillor Doug Ford’s complaint against the chief, questioned the cost of Project Brazen 2 — the ongoing investigation into the mayor and the mayor’s office — and argued Blair should be apologizing to taxpayers for spending money investigating his behaviour.
“If he is going to arrest me, arrest me,” Ford said. “I have done nothing wrong and he’s wasted millions of dollars.
“I want him to come clean and say how much money did it cost the taxpayers for surveillance on me.”
The mayor of Canada’s largest city was firing back at the city’s top cop a day after Blair said he was “deeply offended” by Ford’s inebriated rant at the Steak Queen where he called the chief a “c---sucker.”
“I do not owe him an apology, I will not give him an apology,” Ford said in response to Blair’s public comments.
Ford — who has admitted to smoking crack cocaine — dismissed the results of the investigation that have been made public in police documents.
“Coming up with me urinating in a parking lot? Coming up with an empty vodka bottle? Come on, please,” he said.
A fired-up Ford dismissed Blair’s claim that he was embarrassed by the mayor’s comments about him during his rant in Jamaican patois at Steak Queen in Etobicoke.
“He’s embarrassed? How about him embarrassing my family, my kids, my community, my friends? Following me around for five months, spending millions of dollars,” Ford said. “If there is anyone who owes an apology, he owes an apology to the taxpayers.”
Ford maintained he did “nothing illegal” at the restaurant in January.
“I can go out and if I chose to do that with my friends, I did nothing illegal at Steak Queen,” he said.
Asked about his relationship with Alexander “Sandro” Lisi, Ford refused to talk about the man charged with extortion in connection with the mayor’s crack video.
“I cannot talk about Mr. Lisi, it is before the courts,” he said.
Toronto Police spokesman Mark Pugash wouldn’t comment on Ford’s statements.
“We don’t comment on ongoing, criminal investigations,” Pugash said.
Mayoral candidate John Tory issued a statement blasting Ford over his rant.
“This is a disgrace. Torontonians deserve better,” Tory stated. “While mayors across Canada are focused on building transit and attracting jobs, Doug and Rob Ford are focused on fighting the police chief.
“I am proud to support the chief. Today’s behaviour underscores why we need new leadership at City Hall.”
Spokesman Supriya Dwivedi said mayoral candidate David Soknacki supports the chief and finds Ford’s latest comments “extremely disconcerting, yet he is unfortunately not surprised by the bullying tactics employed by the mayor.”
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