City of Toronto worker berates police in expletive-laden tirade

A video posted on social media shows a City of Toronto employee berating police officers in an expletive-laden tirade.

The incident happened in a plaza near Lawrence Avenue East and the Don Valley Parkway in the Parkwoods neighbourhood.

The video, which was posted in August by the employee himself, shows the man parked illegally in a wheelchair accessible spot. He recorded the video as officers were trying to ticket him.

“What? I got to show you my uniform for you to f**k off?” the man asked.

The man continued to berate and swear at the officers. The incident lasted for about 10 minutes.

Warning: Graphic language in the video below.

 

“It’s very unfortunate,” said Jim McKay, general manager of Solid Waste Management Services, who confirmed to CityNews the man works for the City of Toronto.

“We hold our employees to the highest level of integrity and behaviour, and that is not demonstrated in this video by any means. So, it is disappointing to see that type of behaviour.”

McKay said the man was “not at work” on Tuesday.

“He had finished his shift (at the time of the incident), but certainly chose to identify himself as a City employee,” McKay said. “And if you’re going to identify yourself as a City employee, you need to act like one — and he did not.”

The City of Toronto is investigating.

“It’s unfortunate that the gentleman who’s captured this image was so upset by what our police officers were doing,” said Toronto police superintendent Randy Carter. “But our police officers were doing what the general public expects they will do.”

Carter said the officers tried to do their best to de-escalate the situation.

“They did exactly what we want (them), as the police service, to do. We want to not be personally affected,” he said.

“We want to do our best to make sure we don’t engage or aggravate the situation, which is exactly what they did.”