TIMELINE: Key events during Mayor Rob Ford’s time in office

Here’s a look back at some key events, including the crack cocaine scandal, during Mayor Rob Ford’s term in office.

Sept. 17, 2014: Rob Ford is diagnosed with a malignant liposarcoma, a rare form of cancer in his abdomen. Initial treatment will consist of two rounds of chemotherapy.

Sept. 12, 2014: Rob Ford withdraws from the mayoral race.

Sept. 11, 2014: Ford is transferred to Mount Sinai Hospital where a biopsy is done. At a press conference, colorectal surgeon Dr. Zane Cohen said results are expected to be known in about a week.

Sept. 10, 2014: Ford is admitted to Humber River Regional Hospital after months of abdominal pain. Doctors discover a tumour in his abdomen.

Sept. 9, 2014: Ford meets former heavyweight boxing champion and convicted rapist Mike Tyson at city hall, with Ford saying the two are “cut from the same cloth.”

Sept. 3, 2014: Ford unveils his transit platform, in which he lays out plans to build 32 kilometres of new subways for $9 billion if re-elected.

Sept. 2, 2014: Ford drops out of two debates scheduled for that week. In a report from the Toronto Star, Ford’s director of communications, Jeff Silverstein, says “something has come up in his schedule,” but doesn’t provide further details.

Aug.26, 2014: Police arrive at Ford’s mother’s home in Etobicoke to serve the mayor with a subpoena. It orders him to testify at a preliminary hearing for Alexander “Sandro” Lisi, who has been charged with extortion for alleged attempts to retrieve a video purported showing the mayor smoking what appears to be crack cocaine.

Aug. 11, 2014: Ford says someone threatened to bomb city hall if he doesn’t resign from office. He tells reporters that the threat came in an email to his brother, Coun. Doug Ford. Police bring in bomb-sniffing dogs to sweep the area, but find nothing.

July 1, 2014: While walking in a Canada Day parade in East York, Ford is confronted by the “shirtless jogger.” The man, frustrated with the mayor’s actions during his term in office, turns out to be a school teacher named Joe Killoran.

June 30, 2014: Rob Ford returns to work at city hall after treatment at the GreeneStone facility in Muskoka.

April 30, 2014: Ford’s lawyer said the Toronto mayor would take a leave of absence to seek help for substance abuse. Dennis Morris said Ford “realizes he needs help for substance abuse” but would not say what steps his client would take.

April 3, 2014: More details from a police documents shows that the alleged gang members of the Dixon community in northern Etobicoke were worried that the police, along with Ford’s people, would raid the neighbourhood looking for the so-called crack video. According to the document, Alexander Lisi, a friend and former driver for Ford, made threats, saying that he and the police would run through the neighbourhood. Lisi allegedly put extreme pressure on others to try to get the video returned.

March 19, 2014: A detailed description of the so-called Ford crack video is included in document released by a Toronto judge. The document, containing police allegations used to obtain search warrants in an ongoing investigation involving Ford, says the video was filmed on Family Day weekend in 2013. Police also allege another video shows an alleged gang member describing how to “catch a mayor smoking crack,”

March 14, 2014 : Ford’s brother and fellow city councillor Doug Ford accuse actor Kevin Spacey of being an “arrogant S.O.B.” While the mayor was waiting to appear on the Jimmy Kimmel Live talk show in Los Angeles, Doug Ford said they were told they couldn’t talk to or take a picture with Spacey. The comment is made on their Ford Nation show on YouTube. The next day Spacey posts a doctored photo on Twitter of himself between the Ford brothers on the Ford Nation set with the caption “All you had to do was ask, guys. Here’s your pic.”

March 3, 2014: Mayor Ford makes a highly-anticipated appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, with the host introducing him by saying, “our first guest tonight has tripped, bumped, danced, argued and smoked his was into our national consciousness.” Ford told Kimmel he wasn’t elected to be perfect but to clean up the financial mess at City Hall.

Jan. 31, 2014: While visiting a Vancouver suburb for the funeral of a friend’s mother, Ford gets a ticket for jaywalking. He says he was singled out by police. The Toronto Star reports that hours later, he was served drinks after closing hours at a pub in Coquitlam. It quotes an unidentified witness as saying Ford went into a tiny staff washroom only to emerge more than an hour later “talking gibberish.” Ford and the pub’s owner do not comment.

Jan. 21, 2014: After weeks of adamant vows that he had given up alcohol, Ford admits he had been drinking the previous night after a video emerged on YouTube of him in a rambling, profane rant using Jamaican patois. Ford says he had been on personal time at a west-end Toronto restaurant and did not think the language he used was offensive.

Dec. 9, 2013: In a televised interview with Conrad Black, Ford claims that Toronto Star reporter Daniel Dale was in his backyard in May 2012, “taking pictures of little kids.” He says “I don’t want to say that word but you start thinking what this guy is all about.” Dale later serves Ford with a libel notice, alleging Ford insinuated he is a pedophile. He later announces he is not proceeding with the lawsuit after Ford apologizes and retracts his comments, though only after a first attempt at an apology that Dale found unsatisfactory.

Nov. 18, 2013: City council votes by a wide margin to slash Ford’s mayoral budget and hand many of his duties to deputy mayor Norm Kelly. Ford called it a “coup d’etat” and vowed it would be war in the October 2014 municipal election.

Nov. 15, 2013: Toronto city council overwhelmingly passes two motions to limit Ford’s powers. He says that council left him with no choice but to begin costly legal action to try to overturn the decisions.

Nov. 14, 2013: Ford shocked everyone when he spouted an obscenity on live TV while denying allegations in the police court document that he made lewd comments to an ex-female staffer. He later apologized with his wife by his side at city hall and said he was getting professional support. City councillors called on him to resign. Ford stubbornly refused, and Premier Kathleen Wynne reiterated that city council has to address the issues it faces, but the province could intervene if requested.

Nov. 13, 2013: The mayor’s ex-staffers told police he was intoxicated at work, drank while driving and associated with suspected prostitutes, according to unredacted portions of a police document. The release came shortly after city council voted overwelmingly in favour of a motion urging Ford to take a leave of absence and just hours after he admitted during the meeting to buying illegal drugs while in office.

Nov. 7, 2013: A video posted online by the Toronto Star and Toronto Sun shows Ford spewing obscenities and using threatening words, including “kill” and “murder.” The mayor tells reporters that he was “extremely” drunk and is “extremely” embarrassed. But he doesn’t explain who he’s angry at.

Nov. 5, 2013: Ford admits he has smoked crack cocaine. “Yes I have smoked crack cocaine,” he said at city hall, later adding, “Have I tried it? Probably in one of my drunken stupors, probably approximately a year ago.”

Nov. 5, 2013: Doug Ford, the mayor’s brother, says police chief Bill Blair should step aside over what he said was a conflict of interest. He also says that he and his brother have been “uninvited” from an upcoming police gala.

Nov. 4, 2013: Mayor Ford is the butt of late-night talk show jokes, mocked on The Daily Show and the subject of jabs from Jay Leno and Howard Stern.

Nov. 4, 2013: Ford again calls on police to release the infamous video.

Nov. 4, 2013: Toronto voters – and councillors – are split on whether they should accept Ford’s apology.

Nov. 3, 2013: During his weekly radio show, Ford acknowledged he has made mistakes in his life but left unanswered questions about the alleged crack video that has propelled him into the international spotlight. He apologized to voters and said he would not resign.

Nov. 2, 2013: Ford’s approval rating goes up slightly

Nov. 1, 2013: An email written by a city hall security guard describes an incident on St. Patrick’s Day last year when Mayor Ford appeared drunk and visibly upset.

Nov. 1, 2013: Ford calls on police to release video – a video he had previously said did not exist.

Nov. 1, 2013: All four major Toronto newspapers call on Ford to step aside or resign.

Nov. 1, 2013: Police say the man who showed the Ford video to reporters from the Toronto Star and Gawker was the target of an extortion attempt.

Oct. 31, 2013: Toronto police reveal they have the alleged crack video that is “consistent with video previously described by the media.” Ford says he has no reason to resign and will not comment further on the issue as it is “before the courts.”

Oct. 31, 2013: Documents relating to the drug arrest of Ford’s friend Lisi are partially unsealed. The police document says an alleged video that appears to show Ford using crack cocaine was the focus of an investigation that led to dozens of arrests.

The document shows friends and former staffers of Ford were concerned that Lisi was “fuelling” the Toronto mayor’s alleged drug use.

Oct. 30, 2013: Judge Ian Nordheimer rules that a search warrant relating to the arrest of Lisi will be publicly released. It will be scrutinized for mentions of the mayor.

Oct. 22, 2013: A letter Ford wrote as a character reference for Lisi’s sentencing hearing is released to the public. At the hearing, Lisi, an alleged drug dealer, was sentenced to time served and two years’ probation for threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend.

Oct. 11, 2013: Hours after Coun. Paul Ainslie steps down from Ford’s executive committee, the mayor targets Ainslie’s constituents with robocalls criticizing him for voting against a Scarborough subway. Ainslie vows to file a complaint with the city’s integrity commissioner.

Oct. 1, 2013: Lisi is arrested during a raid in Etobicoke was charged with trafficking in marijuana, possession of proceeds of crime, possession of marijuana and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.

Aug. 10, 2013: Video surfaces on YouTube of Ford appearing to be intoxicated at the Taste of the Danforth Festival. Ford later admitted that he had consumed a couple of beers but that he did not drive home.

May 30, 2013: Following the departure of three staffers in one week, Ford’s policy advisor Brian Johnston, who also handles council relations, and the mayor’s executive assistant Kia Nejatian both resign.

May 27, 2013: Ford’s office announces that his press secretary George Christopoulos and deputy press secretary Isaac Ransom are no longer employed in the mayor’s office. While speaking to the media Ford states that despite the departures from his office staff “it’s business as usual.”

May 24, 2013: Following the open letter from six members of his executive committee, Ford holds a news conference and breaks his silence saying, “I do not use crack cocaine nor am I an addict of crack cocaine. As for a video I can’t comment on a video that I’ve not seen or does not exist.”

May 24, 2013: Members of Ford’s hand-picked executive committee ask the mayor to formally address allegations of drug use. Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday says he is prepared to step in, if needed.

May 23, 2013: Ford fires his chief of staff, Mark Towhey. According to multiple reports, Towhey had urged Ford to seek help for his alleged addiction.

May 22, 2013: Ford is fired from his volunteer football coaching job at Don Bosco high school. The school says it has nothing to do with drug allegations. Instead, it is based on comments Ford made to the Toronto Sun, where he said students would not be at the school if not for the team.

May 22, 2013: Coun. Doug Ford says drug use allegations against his brother are “untrue.” Speaking at city hall, he said, “Rob is telling me these stories are untrue, that these accusations are ridiculous and I believe him.”

May 16, 2013: Reporters at The Toronto Star and Gawker publish allegations they have seen a video that appears to show Mayor Ford using drugs.

March 27, 2013: A report in the Toronto Star alleges that Ford is asked to leave the Garrison Ball, a military fundraiser, because he appeared impaired.

March 8, 2013: Mayoral candidate Sarah Thomson says Ford made inappropriate comments and grabbed her butt at a gala for the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee. Ford denies the allegations.

Feb. 1, 2013: After a forensic audit of his campaign spending, Ford is found to have overspent by $40,100. However, a city hall committee decided not to send the issue to a special prosecutor.

Nov. 26, 2012: A judge rules that Ford violated the provincial Municipal Elections Act and orders Ford removed from office. He appeals and is later reinstated.

Nov. 6, 2012: Ford comes under fire after a Toronto Transit Commission bus was emptied of passengers and rerouted to collect his football team.

August 2012: Ford, who has been accused of distracted driving, is photographed driving and reading while on the Gardiner Expressway. Ford admitted to reading briefing notes, saying he was a busy man.

May 2, 2012: Ford calls police after seeing a Toronto Star reporter near his home. The Star’s Dale said he was not trespassing, and, in fact, the mayor threatened him.

February-March 2012: City reaches deals with all of its unionized workers, averting a strike and ensuring labour peace for four years.

Feb. 7, 2012: Ford participates in a council vote on whether he should have to pay back donations he received from lobbyists, triggering a conflict-of-interest lawsuit.

December 2011: The Toronto Star reports that police had been called to his Etobicoke home after his mother-in-law called 911 on Christmas morning. There were claims he had been drinking and threatened to take his children to Florida without his wife.

October 2011: Ford is accused again of using his cellphone while driving.

Oct. 25, 2011: Ford calls police on a comedy crew from This Hour Has 22 Minutes. Comedian Mary Walsh, who was dressed as her alter ego Marg, Warrior Princess, and a cameraman were at his home. The CBC reported that Ford later yelled obscenities at a 911 operator. Toronto police chief Bill Blair denied Ford had made the comments.

July 2011: Ford is accused of using his cellphone while driving and then giving the middle finger to the woman who chastised him. He denied giving the woman the finger.

June 2011: Ford angers the city’s gay community by declining to attend either the city’s gay pride parade or the flag raising ceremony to kick off Pride week

May 17, 2011: Council votes 32-13 to contract out garbage collection for homes between Yonge Street and the Humber River.

Dec. 16, 2010: Council votes to repeal the vehicle-registration tax introduced by former mayor David Miller.

June 2010: On a taped phone call, Ford can be heard offering to buy prescription drugs for a constituent. Ford admitted he offered to help an HIV-positive man find OxyContin illegally, but says he was playing along “just to get him off the phone.”

March 5, 2008: During a city hall debate, Ford says: “Those Oriental people work like dogs. They work their hearts out. They are workers non-stop. They sleep beside their machines.” He refused to apologize, saying he was paying the community a compliment.

June 2006: Ford votes against AIDS funding, saying “If you are not doing needles and you are not gay, you wouldn’t get AIDS probably, that’s bottom line.”

April 2006: Ford, now a councillor, got drunk at a Leaf game and began spouting a range of obscenities at those sitting near him. He initially denied even being there, but later came clean, apologizing for his behaviour and admitting he was “both embarrassed and humiliated by the whole series of events.”

February 1999: Ford, then 29, is charged with marijuana possession and driving under the influence while on vacation in Florida. The marijuana charge is later dropped. While campaigning for office in 2010, Ford lies about the Florida charge, saying was charged with failing to provide a breath test.

With files from CityNews.ca staff and The Canadian Press