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Mayor Olivia Chow said Thursday the city is investigating after video captured the chaotic moment a contractor drove a small snowplow through a crowd of pro-Palestinian protesters on a Toronto sidewalk.
“Thank goodness no one was hurt,” Chow told reporters.
City spokesperson Russell Baker confirmed the contractor was doing a “dry run” ahead of the winter season at the time of the incident.
“The behaviour displayed is completely unacceptable and falls short of the standards we expect from contractors operating on behalf of the City of Toronto. This conduct does not reflect the City’s values and expectations,” Baker said in an emailed statement.
The incident happened on Tuesday evening as protesters rallied outside of the U.S. consulate on University Avenue in a demonstration that was being monitored by Toronto police officers.
Videos posted on social media show the driver pilot their orange Kubota tractor right through the crowd that had gathered on the sidewalk. One protester is seen trying to clear the way, while another briefly grabs the front plow before jumping out of the way.
“What the f–k is wrong with you?” one protester can be heard saying as another person in the crowd smacks the plow’s salter with a sign.
Videos captured the chaos as a contractor drove a snowplow through a crowd during a pro-Palestinian protest outside the U.S. Consulate in Toronto on Tuesday. CBC’s Ali Chiasson has the details — and reaction.
A photograph from the scene shows the driver giving the crowd the middle finger.
The vehicle has signage for A&F Di Carlo Construction, one of the companies contracted to do snow-clearing work in the City of Toronto. The plow’s salter has City of Toronto signage.
Driver ‘feared for her personal safety,’ company says
Fausto Di Carlo, spokesperson for A&F Di Carlo Construction Inc., said in a statement Thursday the company is aware of the “unfortunate incident” involving its sidewalk plow equipment.
Di Carlo said its crew was on a “preseason practice run” required by its contract. It had notified the city but was not told about “any unusual activity” in the area.
“Our operator was trying to do her job under difficult circumstances and feared for her personal safety. She had no other option but to remove herself from the situation slowly and carefully which is what she did. We note that police who were on-site had no concerns with her actions,” Di Carlo said.
“We understand that following the incident, the driver made a gesture that was inconsistent with our standard of conduct when engaging with the public and that A&F Di Carlo regrets,” he added.
“We are grateful to our operator that she ensured that no one was harmed and that no property was damaged despite the aggressive actions of some of the individuals involved toward our employee as well as our equipment.”
The driver is “trained and experienced,” he added.
The company immediately reported the incident to the city and it submitted an incident report following an internal investigation, said Di Carlo. The he company will work with the city to ensure protocols are in place to prevent such an incident from happening again, he added.
Toronto police officers stopped but didn’t charge driver
Toronto police officers did appear to stop the driver, though the service confirmed Wednesday evening that she is not facing any charges at this time.
Videos show the plow driver pulled over and speaking with police officers about a block north of where the incident took place.
In one, a protester shows an officer video of the incident on their phone. The officer appears to dismiss the concerns.
Another video shows police allowing the driver to leave the area following a discussion with an officer.
Toronto police said in a statement on Wednesday evening that “no complainants have come forward” in connection with the incident and that there were no injuries reported.
“At this point, we have no reason to believe there was any malicious intent by the driver,” police spokesperson Stephanie Sayer said in an email.
Sayer sent a follow-up statement on Thursday confirming no charges have been filed.
“We have no victim or complainant — no one has come forward to make a report to police. Without that, there is no basis for further investigation. If someone wishes to report the incident to police, that could change,” Sayer said.
