Police responsible for calling in TTC bus following incident with mayor’s high school football team
Posted November 6, 2012 3:43 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO, Ont. – Police have explained and are defending what led up to them calling in a TTC bus to give players of Mayor Rob Ford’s high school football team a ride last Thursday.
Supt. Ron Taverner from 23 Division said there was a lot of verbal conflict between the Don Bosco and Father Henry Carr teams at a game two weeks ago, which led to plenty of chatter over Twitter on what might happen at their next match up.
Taverner said officers spoke with the principals at both schools who expressed concerns over the potential for escalating tensions, so they were not taking any chances when the Father Henry Carr coach got into an argument with a referee. Meanwhile, riders already on the TTC bus during afternoon rush hour were kicked off to make room for the Don Bosco players.
“At the end of it when the bus left, the field was calm and we feel a situation was diffused,” he said at a news conference, Tuesday. “The Sergeant that made that call feels very strongly that it was the right decision.”
“I wasn’t there personally but I have to rely on her decision, and quite frankly we pay our people to make decisions, particularly around community safety.”
He added that at no time was Mayor Ford involved in any verbal or physical conflict, and the Mayor also had no involvement in deciding to call in a shelter bus.
“It was our officer, our Sergeant that made that decision, out of community safety concerns,” he said.
Don Bosco and Father Henry Carr have a history of bad blood between them.
