Toronto mayor Rob Ford might have to close the door on his political career amidst allegations that he has been caught using crack. Many critics and political personnel are urging Ford to step down after police confirmed they’ve gotten their hands on a video showing him smoking what appears to be a crack pipe.
Ford told reporters on Thursday that he had no plans to remove himself from office:
“I’m going to be out doing what the people elected me to do and that’s save taxpayers money and run a great government that we’ve been running for the last three years.”
Ford denies using the illicit drug and stated that he was unable to comment further on the matter, because the video serves as evidence in his criminal court case.
Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair told reporters Thursday about the video they had been recovered during an investigation dubbed “Project Brazen 2,” a huge surveillance operation into a friend suspected of providing Ford with drugs. The footage was originally shot on a mobile phone and “contained video images which appear to be those video images previously reported in the press,” he said.
Blair said the video was recovered after being deleted from a computer hard drive, but it did not provide grounds to press charges.
A video of Ford using drugs was reported last spring, but police confirmation is bad news for the mayor’s career.
Many have called for the populist mayor to step down and get the help he needs. Even the Toronto Sun, a tabloid that heavily backed the mayor, ran the title “Enough’s enough, it’s time to quit,” on their front page. Ford’s approval rating has dropped a whopping 10 percent in the last month.
Despite the alleged drama, the embattled mayor proceeded to live his life normally amidst the scandal and took his children trick-or-treating, dressing as a Toronto Maple Leaf player.
If only Olivia Pope could help this guy out!
SOURCE: NBC NEWS| PHOTO CREDIT: Instagram
