Ford, police in talks for private showing of video: reports
Posted November 7, 2013 6:53 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO (NEWS1130) – Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is apparently in negotiations through his lawyer for a private showing of the now infamous video which apparently shows him smoking a crack pipe, The Globe and Mail reports.
News of the negotiations for the private viewing of the video comes as the mayor pushes for it to be released publicly.
“That is the right thing to do,” Ford said in his weekly radio show on Sunday. “And chief, I’m asking you to release this video now.”
During his confession on Tuesday, Ford admitted he smoked crack probably when “in a drunken stupor.”
Since his memory of the event is fuzzy, Ford repeated his request to release the video.
“I’d like to see this tape. I don’t even recall there being a tape or a video,” the mayor said. “I want to see the state I was in.”
The talks with the police apparently involve some conditions, including a request by investigators to question the mayor, according to the lawyer, Dennis Morris, in an interview with The Globe.
According to the newspaper, Morris said he’s doing his best to try and get rid of those conditions.
Police chief Bill Blair said the video is part of the evidence in a court case against Sandro Lisi, an accused drug dealer who is a friend and was an occasional driver of Mayor Rob Ford, and can’t be released publicly.
The reported owner of the video, Mohamed Siad, is due in court on Thursday. He’s facing charges after being arrested in Project Traveller, the guns and drug investigation from the summer.
Justice Ian Nordheimer is also reviewing lawyer arguments to see if more redacted information from a 474-page police document involving Ford and Lisi, will be released.
A decision could be made as early as Friday.
