TORONTO

A City of Toronto worker is under fire after posting an expletive-filled video of himself blasting cops as he gets ticketed for parking in a disabled spot at a North York plaza.

In the video, posted on social media in August, the man lambastes Toronto Police officers for more than 10 minutes outside a variety store near Lawrence Ave. E. and the Don Valley Parkway.

“You thought I was just a regular f---ing n----- out here,” the unidentified man says after pulling his City of Toronto rain gear out of his car to show the cops.

The man, who works for Solid Waste Management Services, claims he ran into the store to buy a lottery ticket and was only parked illegally for about 45 seconds. When he returned, a police cruiser was behind his vehicle preventing him from pulling out of the spot.

*****WARNING: RAW VIDEO -- VIEWERS MAY FIND LANGUAGE OFFENSIVE*****

After two additional cops responded to back up the first two officers, one of whom is black, the city worker turns the parking ticket into a race issue.

“I was racially profiled by another black dude,” he says with a laugh. “I’ve never been racially profiled by another black guy.

“But then again black cops are the worst. They’ve got something to prove,” the man adds.

Officers can be heard talking calmly to the man, attempting to de-escalate the situation, despite his repeated spewing of disparaging remarks aimed at the black officer.

“You’ll never be one of them,” the city worker says. “Bleaching cream, Clorex, whatever you want to use, bro; you’ll never be one of them, bro.

“They’re always going to snicker about you in the lunchroom or in the privacy of their own home.”

Near the end of the video, which has more than 57,000 views, the city employee tells officers “give me the ticket and f--- off man.”

The man then has some final parting words for the black officer.

“Bye bye uncle Tom,” he says. “Are you a little bit whiter now buddy?”

Jim McKay, general manager of Solid Waste Management Services, confirmed the man is a city employee and said “a comprehensive investigation” was launched after the video surfaced last Friday.

“The Toronto Public Service fosters a corporate culture that sets the highest standard of integrity, professionalism and ethical behaviour,” he said. “It is our expectation that all employees demonstrate and uphold these core values.”

“The city is committed to ensuring a harmonious, equitable environment that is free from discrimination or harassment both within the workplace and the broader community,” McKay added.

He said while the investigation is ongoing the employee is “not at work.”

The president of CUPE Local 416, which represents the worker, said he has "expressed remorse for parking in an accessible parking space, referencing the City of Toronto during this incident, and for using the graphic language that can be heard in the video posted online.

“The member is a dedicated and respected employee of the city with an exemplary record, and is deeply apologetic to the City of Toronto for naming them during this incident. He is proud to be employed by the City of Toronto and values his job.

"He is deeply regretful that this incident took place and that he chose to post the video online.”

Social media posters commenting on the video clearly disagree with the man’s perspective of the police encounter.

“The fact you think you’re innocent in all this and being profiled by another black man is insane,” one comment reads.

Many of the posters believe the city worker’s off-duty conduct should cost him his job

“Absolutely disgraceful,” one comment reads. “This fellow should be relieved of his employment based on the fact he identified himself as that and continued using racial slurs, bigotry comments and treated the officers in the manner that he did.”

Toronto Police Supt. Randy Carter, of 33 Division, said “it’s unfortunate” the man in the video was “disappointed” with his officers.

But they were just doing their job, he said.

“The comments he was making sounded very personal, especially toward one of our officers who happens to be black,” Carter said. “But our officers know not to take it personally.”

“As their unit commander, I’m wholly impressed with how the officers handled the situation,” he said.

cdoucette@postmedia.com