Police chief confirms Ford in video

(Updated) Toronto police chief Bill Blair says investigators have a recovered a video file that “depicts images that are consistent with those previously reported in the press.” This, just after police documents released to the public showed the alleged Rob Ford crack cocaine video launched an investigation that led to dozens of arrests.

It took several minutes and relentless questioning by reporters to get Blair to state this video does in fact depict Ford, although he wouldn’t offer any other specifics.

One reporter asked why the chief wouldn’t say if Ford was in those images, if he confirmed that the details are consistent with those previously reported.

“I think it’s fair to say the mayor does appear in that video, but I’m not going to get into the detail of what activities (are) depicted in that video.”

Blair says police recovered the video from a hard drive on Tuesday — it had been deleted.

Alexander Lisi, Ford’s friend and driver, is facing extortion charges on top of the drug-related charges in connection to a raid in Etobicoke earlier this month.

Blair says he’s very disappointed with this new piece of the case.

This bombshell comes on the heels of a partially unsealed police document released to the public, showing the alleged crack video launched a police investigation, leading to several arrests including Lisi’s.

The document says police saw packages going between Ford’s vehicle and Lisi’s in some sort of an exchange.

Also according to the document, police launched an investigation after the gossip website Gawker and Toronto Star posted reports about that alleged video.

Ford had a heated interaction with reporters who gathered outside his house this morning. He shouted at them to get off his property when they repeatedly asked him about the alleged crack cocaine video and the document on Lisi’s arrest.

The mayor has always insisted he does not use crack cocaine and that the alleged video does not exist.

This morning Toronto councillor Shelley Carroll told reporters she wants Ford to step down.

Premier Kathleen Wynne was asked if she was going to intervene in the investigation. She insists that she will not, adding it is a matter for police and the justice system to deal with.

“I think that the word that you’ve used there that’s the most important was ‘allegedly.’ I don’t know what was released this morning… but I’m not going to weigh in to an area where I just don’t know what the issues are going to be.”