Rob Ford's brother Coun. Doug Ford says they plan on releasing their own video recording of a scuffle between a man wearing a Ford mask and one of their campaign volunteers, who now faces a number of charges.
Wednesday's altercation took place at Ford's Scarborough campaign office, located in the Lawrence Avenue East and Warden Avenue area. It was recorded on the masked man’s camera.
Paul Benoit, 43, said he was trying to be funny when he entered the office with a camera wearing a mask resembling Ford's face. He said that he was near the office filming footage for his website Crucial Matters on Wednesday.
"Right before I left (the area), I decided to walk into the office with a Rob Ford mask just as a joke," he told CTV Toronto Wednesday night.
"Basically I was going to Rob Ford's campaign office to do some filming as a citizen journalist for my website,” he said.
"I was going to interview people to see who would or would not vote for Rob Ford."
The Oakville, Ont., man entered a restricted area of the office and was told to leave, but refused.
In the video, a Ford campaign worker can be seen approaching Benoit.
"At ease everybody," Benoit is heard saying in the video. A volunteer responds, telling him to, "get out of here or I'm calling the cops."
Police say a physical altercation took place with a member of Ford's campaign team inside the office. It continued outside, where police say it "escalated into an assault."
The campaign worker reportedly kicked Benoit's camera out of his hand and punched him in the face, police said in a statement Thursday. The fight continued until people in the area stepped in and stopped it. The campaign worker then took Benoit's microphone and left, police said.
When asked about the incident, Doug Ford said he and his brother are "standing by" the campaign volunteer.
"It was a gentleman who drove an hour-and-a-half…to come target our campaign office with a bunch of seniors and women in there. A 60-year-old man had to step up to the plate and I'm proud of him for doing that," the councillor said on Thursday.
"We'll show you the video of this premeditated attack… kicking a 60-year-old man and jumping on his back."
Ford did not say when their video of the scuffle will be made available, but said it will be released soon.
Police said Benoit and another man suffered minor injuries after the altercation.
Benoit was arrested Wednesday, but was released without charges.
The 60-year-old volunteer was also arrested, and has been charged with one count of assault, one count of mischief and one count of theft. He is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday, Oct. 7.
