OPP Boss Backs Police Chief's Account Of Ford 911 Calls

Chris Lewis

First Posted: 01/20/2012 6:39 pm Updated: 01/23/2012 9:28 pm


Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Chris Lewis said Friday that Toronto police Chief Bill Blair's public statement about the content of calls Mayor Rob Ford made to 911 last October is "accurate."


Lewis is quoted in a news release issued on Friday, saying he reviewed three 911 recordings at Blair's request.


"Please be advised that I have reviewed the three Toronto Police Service recordings you provided," reads Lewis's statement. "I can confirm that the statement you made in a public release on Oct. 28, 2011, is an accurate interpretation of the content of the tapes."


Lewis's statement comes in response to the CBC Ombudsman's report about 911 calls made from Ford's house on Oct. 24.


On that morning, comedienne Mary Walsh approached Ford in the driveway of his home for a segment on the CBC comedy program This Hour Has 22 Minutes.


Ford refused to take part in the interview, asked Walsh to leave and went inside his house, where he called 911.


Sources within the Toronto Police Service told CBC News that Ford used abusive language when he spoke to the dispatchers.


Ford later denied using a coarse description for the 911 operators, but admitted he swore during the calls.


CBC ombudsman Kirk LaPointe, responding to complaints about the CBC report, concluded that without the release of the dispatcher tapes "it has not been possible to assess the accuracy, and thus the fairness, of the CBC News reports about the calls."


The tapes cannot be released without the consent of the caller, and Ford has not given his authorization for their release.


In his report, LaPointe also said Blair "was not a disinterested party" because the police service "depends on budget deliberations headed by the mayor."


In a news release, Blair referenced the ombudsman's comment, and said he had "referred the matter" to his provincial counterpart.


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Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Chris Lewis said Friday that Toronto police Chief Bill Blair's public statement about the content of calls Mayor Rob Ford made to 911 last October i...
Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Chris Lewis said Friday that Toronto police Chief Bill Blair's public statement about the content of calls Mayor Rob Ford made to 911 last October i...
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03:40 AM on 01/23/2012
The CBC was wrong. They used unsubstantiated innuendo and reported it as fact. The reporters and editors that allowed this should be fired!!!
03:38 AM on 01/23/2012
The CBC was wrong and reported innuendo and non-reliable gossip as fact. They have been called on the carpet for it and are twisting and turning every which way to avoid further embarassment over their own biases.
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Maxirules
04:37 PM on 01/21/2012
Release the tapes... let us judge for ourselves. One liar backing up another. What a bunch of jokers....
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Kristopher Leang
training to take down the elite
04:00 PM on 01/21/2012
cant anyone else see the rott in our politicians, military and police service?/ rob ford Admitted 2 name calling he changed his story. they protect one another like little cronies. while the rest of Canadians (ie poor people), live by a different law. the police are more brutal with us, the apply a different law and standard, and they basically ignore politicians who break the law.. yay for the rule of law and canada wow what are we turning into.. i know just look south..
12:59 PM on 01/21/2012
Somebody's lying, and a distinct odour of "Schettino" is in the air.
Release the tapes or shut up about it all.
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john frodo
armchair expert
12:38 PM on 01/21/2012
And they stick up for each other , when the tape is just sitting there, why not release the tape?
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Johnny LaRue
political correctness is just incorrect
09:40 AM on 01/21/2012
The CBC would never let the truth get in the way of a good story.
12:54 PM on 01/21/2012
Solution: release the tapes.
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Marcus1
Trickledownscam
04:15 PM on 01/21/2012
Funny, since the people you support will not release the tapes. Your comment alas, has no merit.
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WeeTadBit
09:18 AM on 01/21/2012
After reading this "fluff", I think I should have been cleaning the lint filter in my dryer instead. The more pressing question it raises though, is why this upstanding mayor and family man's residence is so well known by the 911 response squad. He states his obesity is due to an over-indulgence of ice cream at night, but one has to wonder if it's boozily laced with something.
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nete peedham
08:33 AM on 01/21/2012
Swearing AT someone, or swearing while talking with someone can be a very subtle difference, especially when the one doing the swearing is the mayor of a major city.
What is the difference if one says, "I want you to get something f^&*)(g done"!", or "I want f^&*)(g you to get something done!"?
It's intimidating either way, but the first statement wouldn't be swearing AT the dispatcher, while the second would.
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Kristopher Leang
training to take down the elite
04:01 PM on 01/21/2012
he said "do you know who i am B****, im mayor rob F****** ford." thats not swearing at someone... okk there buddy..
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nete peedham
07:04 PM on 01/21/2012
Oh, YOU WERE THERE! YOU KNOW EVERYTHING! Sure, you do. Plus, you failed reading comprehension in your fanatical hatred of Ford(who I don't like either).
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08:09 AM on 01/22/2012
look south and be HAPPY, this is NORTH no elite here to take down
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Marcus1
Trickledownscam
04:16 PM on 01/21/2012
So, release the tapes, why is he afraid of the truth?
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kagu632418
Live and Let Live .....
07:05 AM on 01/21/2012
Amazing what makes the "NEWS" these days Pffffttttttttttttttttt
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JackHoffman
Pundit
02:06 AM on 01/21/2012
Are you serious? It's 2012 and we have to listen to this blatancy of falsehoods?
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Kristopher Leang
training to take down the elite
05:15 PM on 01/21/2012
yaa well he is rich and a politician so he has different rules. we the lowely people should avert our eyes and let the rich people live by their own set of rules while our income continues to stagnate
11:53 PM on 01/20/2012
So what. We haven't heard them so I don't care what he says. I can make my own judgement. If he is so confident about what he is saying then let us hear the recordings ourselves, I can make-up my mind by myself. Sure they will hide behind privacy yada, yada, yada.so we can release them....In a host of other cases where it didn't involve the police or politicos or connected persons in this city, they sure are quick to release all 911 tapes.
10:58 PM on 01/20/2012
Huffingpost influenced by OPP?
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08:10 AM on 01/22/2012
nuts
10:18 PM on 01/20/2012
I dare huffing to post my last comments
10:08 PM on 01/20/2012
Jezzzz imagine that! Why not make them public..............not going to happen.............fu$$$ you very much