Mayor Rob Ford disappeared into a Vancouver-area bar’s tiny staff washroom after midnight last weekend and emerged — more than an hour later — “talking gibberish in what sounded like another language” and appearing impaired, according to an eyewitness account of the mayor’s latest late-night jaunt.

It took some time before Ford was able to speak to restaurant staff coherently. When he could be understood, and after he was assured all patrons had left the Foggy Dew pub in Coquitlam, B.C., Ford ordered and enjoyed rounds of beers, rum-and-cokes and shots of Jack Daniels with three people, according to an account of the evening.

The person providing this account is not being identified due to a fear of consequences for speaking out.

All of this took place in the wee hours of Saturday, Feb. 1, between midnight and 3 a.m. — hours after Ford was ticketed by the RCMP for jaywalking and after local media had left the area. Ford has stated publicly that, prior to the jaywalking incident, he drank only Diet Coke.

The Star asked him this week about alleged drug use and heavy drinking at the Foggy Dew later that night, after it was closed for the evening, but Ford has not responded to the questions.

The Star was unable to independently verify allegations connected to Ford involving suspected drug use or consumption of alcohol at the Foggy Dew.

His brother, Councillor Doug Ford, has spoken to reporters only about the jaywalking incident. Councillor Ford claimed that local RCMP officers targeted his brother and would not have laid a charge if his name was “John Smith.”

The Foggy Dew pub has not responded to questions about Ford’s conduct or about allegedly serving alcohol after hours. A manager who answered the phone at the popular bar on Thursday described Ford’s time in the back room as “a private event.” The pub did not respond to written questions asking, among other things, about serving alcohol after the stated closing hour of 2 a.m., or about the mayor appearing impaired and incoherent after his long stay in the washroom.

A person who described himself as “John Teti, Proprietor, Foggy Dew” wrote to the Star on Thursday, saying the bar was not talking.

“Your request for comment, regarding the conduct of Mr. Ford’s patronage at the Foggy Dew, is that we have no comment,” Teti said in a brief email.

Last November, Ford publicly vowed he was done with drinking. He characterized as a “misstep” a recent incident in which he was videotaped at the Steak Queen in Etobicoke, appearing impaired and making derogatory comments in Jamaican patois towards Chief Bill Blair, criticizing him for the ongoing investigation of Ford by top detectives.

Ford has admitted to being ticketed by the RCMP for jaywalking on the street near the Foggy Dew, which took place around 10 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 31. Ford was staying in a nearby hotel, travelling with former assistant Dave Price and attending Price’s mother’s funeral.

The story of the mayor’s night became much more interesting in the hours after Global TV and other media, who had been alerted to Ford’s jaywalking, departed.

Around midnight, Ford reappeared in the area of the Foggy Dew and was mobbed by people who wanted photos taken with the mayor. With Ford were three people: a man with curly hair and a man and a woman who appeared to be a couple he had recently met. The Star has not been able to identify these individuals.

Foggy Dew bouncer Colin Jamieson was given the task of escorting Ford. He took Ford through the gated parking lot to a back door and into the staff and kitchen area of the pub.

Asked to comment on his knowledge of the event, Jamieson said, “We’re not authorized to speak about anything regarding customers or patrons.” Jamieson added: “Private citizens. Private establishment. I can’t comment.”

According to a person in close proximity to Ford that night at the Foggy Dew, the mayor had been drinking when he arrived after midnight but was coherent.

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For a little more than a half-hour, Ford chatted with staff and allowed a few photos to be taken. Then, according to a witness, he said, “Okay everybody, I have to go to the bathroom.”

Though there are larger washrooms for patrons in the pub area, Ford entered a small (less than two metres square) single-toilet bathroom used by male staff. He did not emerge for more than an hour. Staff were unable to use that washroom. The curly haired man visited him at one point. So did bouncer Jamieson.

When Ford emerged shortly after 2 a.m., according to the account provided the Star, he was incoherent. He was scratching his chest and the back of his neck and making “weird twitch-like movements non-stop with his hands,” according to an eyewitness. “You could not understand a word he was saying,” said the eyewitness.

The first words witnesses could understand from Ford were: “No pictures.”

Ford, who was still in the kitchen area outside the staff bathroom at this point, asked if everyone was gone from the main pub area. The lights had come on in the pub, signaling that it was past 2 a.m. and the pub was closed.

Management assured Ford everyone was gone. Ford, the Star was told, was suspicious that Foggy Dew employees had been the ones who tipped media around 10 p.m. to his being in the area. Ford was told nobody from the bar had called the media.

Assured that all patrons were gone, Ford and his three friends then settled into a table in the main dining area of the pub. Ford ordered rounds of drinks, which were served after 2 a.m., when the bar was officially closed. A photo taken just before 3 a.m. shows Ford and his friends at a table covered with numerous drinks. (The Star was able to obtain numerous photos of the evening for a nominal fee.)

The Star was unable to determine who paid the tab or how many drinks were ordered.

The account of Ford in the small bathroom is reminiscent of one the Star published last summer. It reported that, while attending a Toronto Maple Leafs playoff game at the Air Canada Centre on May 8, 2013, Ford and friend Alexander “Sandro” Lisi disappeared into the small one-stall bathroom at the Director’s Lounge. No explanation has ever been given for Ford and Lisi spending time in the bathroom.

Lisi, whose movements were tracked in the Project Brazen police investigation of Ford, is facing drug and extortion charges in connection with allegations he tried to retrieve the infamous crack cocaine video, which shows Ford smoking a crack pipe and making racist and homophobic comments.

Kevin Donovan can be reached at (416) 312-3503 or kdonovan@thestar.ca

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