Mayor Rob Ford had nothing to do with a decision to call in a TTC bus to shelter the high school football team he coaches but instead, it was a judgement call of a senior Toronto police officer who became concerned about escalating tensions between rival teams, authorities said Tuesday.

Supt. Ron Taverner told reporters at a news conference Tuesday afternoon that school resource officers had spoken with administrators at both Don Bosco and Father Henry Carr high schools prior to the Nov. 1 game.  Both administrations expressed concerns about the potential for violence between the two teams, particularly because of some messages that were seen on Twitter.

Because of that, five police officers attended the game – the two school resource officers, two community response officers and a sergeant to manage the teams.

Though there was no physical altercation between the two teams at any point during the match, emotions were running high, especially after the coach of Father Henry Carr got into a heated dispute with the referee over a call he had made. The referee threw the coach out of the game and cancelled the rest of the match.

Although players from Father Henry Carr actively held their coach back and retreated to the other side of the field, the sergeant on duty felt it was necessary to call in a TTC bus to drive the Don Bosco team away from the site.

A school bus was already scheduled to come, but not for another hour. Administrators told police they were concerned about the team waiting inside the school, just in case an incident developed there.

“The decision was made out of an abundance of caution for community safety,” Taverner said. “The sergeant who made the call feels strongly it was the right decision.

“She totally, in her mind, justifies everything that was done that day,” he continued.

As a result, a TTC bus that was closest to Father Henry Carr was pulled off its route and told to head to the school, despite the fact that it was carrying about 50 commuters. Commuters were left out in the cold, rainy weather to wait for the next bus. In the meantime, a second empty bus was also called to the school after the first bus driver reported trouble finding the premises.

Andy Byford, the CEO of the TTC, also held a news conference Tuesday to publicly apologize to the commuters who were left out in the cold.

“I’m very sorry that they were inconvenienced, particularly because the weather was pretty inclement,” he said late Tuesday afternoon.

A protocol review is currently underway.

“Obviously it’s important that we get this right going forward,” he said.  “I’m satisfied that generally, that protocol is robust.”

Ford’s actions questioned

Byford confirmed to reporters that the mayor had called him twice, asking about the status of a TTC bus for his team.

Byford said their first conversation was garbled because Ford was standing outside in the wind and it was hard to hear.

“He made some reference to a football team, a potential brawl and a bus and I was perfectly clear, because I thought he was asking me for a bus," he said. "I said to him there was no way I was providing a TTC bus. The call dropped off.  I didn’t really know what he was talking about.”

Byford said he may have misunderstood the mayor when he first called him because the mayor then called him back and left him a voicemail, saying police had asked for a TTC bus and he was wondering where it was.

Byford then called transit control to confirm the Toronto Police Service had in fact ordered the bus. He then called the mayor back to let him know that the bus was five minutes away.

Taverner insisted the mayor did not ask for the bus at any time.

“At no time was the mayor involved in any decision making of the bus being called,” he said. “I’ve talked to the sergeant and she assured me many times the mayor played no piece in the bus being called.”

He also said it was common practice of police to ask the TTC to provide a bus shelter for people who find themselves in precarious situations.

“It’s a fairly regular occurrence where the TTC assists police,” he said. “We have a great partnership with the TTC and we don’t want to jeapordize that.”

“It’s easy for all of us to second guess what was happening on that day, what was taking place, the confrontation, the dialogue the situation that the administrators were telling our people about -- it all has to be taken into account and the officer made the decision,” Taverner added.

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