TTC, police deny responsibility for decision to divert buses for Mayor Rob Ford’s football team

The TTC and Toronto police are both distancing themselves from the decision to kick passengers off two buses so they could be dispatched to pick up Mayor Rob Ford’s high school football team.

“At no time were TTC frontline personnel aware of why a shelter bus was required,” a TTC news release sent out Sunday evening said.

“Given the urgency of the police request, operations personnel at the TTC made the decision to utilize buses from nearby routes to meet the request as quickly as possible.”

Officers were called to the field at Father Henry Carr Secondary School at 3:46 p.m. on Thursday after an altercation between the school’s coach and referees. An officer at the field requested a bus for Ford’s players.

But Alok Mukherjee, the chair of the Toronto Police Services Board, said that the TTC could’ve denied the request.

“It is always their discretion, but they haven’t generally ever said no,” Mukherjee said. “It’s up to the TTC as to how they will respond.”

He added that police didn’t know that TTC passengers would be kicked off two buses to provide shelter for Ford’s football team, the Don Bosco Eagles.

The TTC hasn’t said how many passengers were removed from the buses and left in the cold, wet weather.

In light of an influx of questions, the TTC said it will review its policy regarding shelter buses.

Toronto Police spokesperson Const. Tony Vella said police don’t have a list of emergencies that qualify for a shelter bus. Instead, it’s a “judgment call” made by a single officer.

“Public safety is paramount,” Vella said.

Typically, a shelter bus is called for an evacuation, such as a fire at an apartment building.

The TTC said it receives about two requests for shelter buses each week from Toronto police.

But the request didn’t only come from police; Mayor Rob Ford called TTC CEO Andy Byford’s cellphone. The TTC insists Ford wasn’t rushing the request, but rather echoing the concerns of police.

“I will dig out the policy and, if you would like, make a proposal to strengthen it,” Byford said in an email to TTC commissioners Saturday. “Rest assured that I am following this up with TPS and the Mayor's Office.”

Original Article
Source: the star
Author: Graham Slaughter