Police called after reports of trespasser at Mayor Ford’s home
Posted May 2, 2012 9:59 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Police were called to Mayor Rob Ford’s home Wednesday night, when neighbours told the mayor they spotted a man allegedly trespassing in his backyard.
Speaking outside his Etobicoke home, Ford told reporters the man he saw in his backyard was Toronto Star reporter Daniel Dale.
“Enough is enough,” Ford said angrily. “It’s the safety of my family first. I have two young kids, my son and my daughter here. My wife’s here…What’s your first instinct? I want to catch this person.”
“If I have to I’ll press charges.”
“This isn’t journalism, this is harassment,” said Ford’s brother, Coun. Doug Ford.
Dale responded on the paper’s website, saying he was working on an article on Ford’s plan to expand his property and denying he trespassed.
“I can say this with certainty: I never came close to entering his [Ford’s] backyard,” Dale wrote.
“Usually, it is the media chasing Mayor Rob Ford. I never expected Mayor Ford to chase me. Nor to fear for my safety in his presence.”
CityNews spoke to Toronto Star spokesman Bob Hepburn.
“Daniel Dale was not trespassing and we stand by our reporter 100 per cent,” said Hepburn.
There’s no word on any possible charges at this time.
This wasn’t the first time the mayor has been involved in a dust-up with a member of the media.
Last October, Ford called 911 after Mary Walsh of CBC’s satirical show, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, “ambushed” him in his driveway.
Ford, who has had death threats, said he didn’t know who Walsh was and feared for his family’s safety.
[View the story “Reaction to the ‘trespassing’ incident between Mayor Rob Ford and Toronto Star reporter” on Storify]
