After receiving multiple complaints, Toronto ombudsman Fiona Crean is investigating city hall's security detail, which has come under fire for aggressive behaviour while accompanying Mayor Rob Ford.
Crean confirmed the probe Wednesday after some reporters, including one from the Star, were approached by her investigator.
"Some time ago I initiated an investigation into the conduct of public servants — namely security at city hall — because of a significant number of complaints from members of the public, public servants and the media ..." Crean said in an interview.
"The reason for the investigation is the security officer, the entire team, is responsible for the safety of the public, elected representatives, public servants and of members of the media. We're looking into the processes surrounding whether or not they have done that."
The Star revealed in May that Mike Toolaram, the imposing security guard who often shielded Ford from journalists, was transferred to a different government building following chaotic scenes, including a March 19 incident that triggered an internal review of security procedures.
A Globe and Mail photographer was shoved hard by Ford who, surrounded by reporters asking him about police documents related to his crack cocaine scandal, yelled, "Let's go, let's go, let's go," and charged up a city hall staircase with Toolaram and other security officers around him.
Asked if that incident is part of the probe, Crean said: "I can't answer that. All I can say is there have been many incidents reported."
Security officers accompanying Ford have long acted more like celebrity bodyguards — shielding cameras and blocking access in public areas — than the traditional role of keeping the peace in city hall.
City spokeswoman Jackie DeSouza told the Star in May that following the internal security review, management decided to give guards "more training on crowd-control tactics."
It also urged Ford's office to give advance notice of his movements.
On Tuesday, Jerry Agyemang, Ford's driver, told security guards to "clean them out," referring to media in the public area in front of Ford's office, shortly before the mayor exited, NOW Magazine reported.
Ford's relationship with security officers appears complicated. Some officers were scared to file a formal incident report last St. Patrick's Day, according to a city report, after a slurring Ford pledged to "get" the guard who had reported his intoxication and belligerence on the same holiday two years prior.
As a result of that threat, other documents released to the Star censored guards' names on the grounds their lives or safety could be endangered.
Crean probes the conduct of city staff, not politicians, but a past probe into civic appointments noted political interference by Ford's office in the process.
That probe rankled Ford and others, helping to trigger a push by some councillors to block a five-year reappointment of Crean. On Wednesday, however, her council supporters claimed victory with a vote on a closed-door motion that was not immediately revealed.
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