At Mayor Rob Ford’s first publicly accessible press conference since returning from rehab last week, his message was barely audible over the shouts from a small group of angry protesters demanding his resignation.

What was meant to be an orchestrated event was disrupted by Ford’s chief of staff, Dan Jacobs, who tried to run defence by calling police. Newly hired sobriety coach, who has been identified as Bob Marier, also allegedly kicked a protester.

Jacobs attempted to block a shirtless protester, John Furr, from view of the cameras — many of which carried the spectacle live to audiences watching over breakfast. The two side-stepped each other for more than a minute as Ford stared at his prepared statement and continued to speak into a microphone.

A CityNews video of the scene moments later shows a Toronto police officer — one of several that arrived after they were called to the corner of Eglinton Ave. and Westover Hill Rd. — accusing Marier of kicking a protester.

“If you want me to help you out, you can’t be kicking him,” the officer can be heard saying to Marier. “I saw you kick him.”

Marier is then seen walking away. He could not be reached for comment.

Mayor Rob Ford was interupted and heckled at a press conference on Tuesday morning by shirtless protesters.

• Q&A with shirtless protester John Furr

Little is known about the man who was first noticed at Ford’s side during an interview with Newstalk1010 last week and who Ford’s people have said nothing about other than to correct a reporter that he is not “staff.”

The CBC reported Marier is a recovering alcoholic from Montreal and that Ford’s staff confirmed he is coaching the mayor through his substance abuse.

Furr, who appeared shirtless in solidarity with the now-famous teacher who chastised Ford for his behaviour at a Canada Day parade in East York, alleged he was kicked in the leg by Marier.

“I just let it go,” Furr told the Star. “I didn’t know that he was actually with the Ford campaign.”

Furr — who said he runs a small business, has no agenda, belongs to no campaign and is simply fed up with the mayor — said the police officer approached him after the press conference.

“He said he witnessed it and asked did I want to press charges and I said, ‘No, I’m about building the community, not about tearing it down,’ ” Furr said. “For me to charge him ... that’s what the Fords would do.”

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July 4, 2014. About a dozen people gathered outside the Newstalk1010 studio downtown ahead of an interview with the mayor.

Police spokesperson Mark Pugash said the officer at the scene spoke to everyone involved in the incident.

“It was clear that there was no wish to take the matter forward and the officer exercised his discretion,” Pugash said.

The allegations, Pugash said, are that Furr pushed Jacobs, prompting the kick from Marier.

Furr denies he pushed Jacobs and said was just trying to get around him when the two collided. He said he would consider speaking to his lawyer if allegations against him continue.

Later at city hall, the mayor walked away from reporters at an event in Nathan Phillips Square and did not answer questions about the actions of his coach. Marier was spotted back at city hall with Ford after the press conference.

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Ford’s spokesperson, Amin Massoudi, said they would not be commenting. An email asking Massoudi to confirm Marier’s identity and role with the office was not returned.

Councillor Doug Ford — the mayor’s brother and campaign manager — tried to dismiss the protestors as being “planted from the other campaigns.”

“Regular people don’t all of a sudden leave their house and run over to Yonge and Eglinton with 10 minutes’ notice,” Ford told reporters during a break from the council meeting. “It’s well orchestrated.”

Ford provided no evidence of his claims.

The councillor also announced the window of his SUV was smashed Monday night when facing questions about his brother’s spoiled press conference. He again suggested that other mayoral campaigns could have something to do with it and declared it would be a “dirty campaign.”

Ford also provided no evidence for those claims.

On the street corner Tuesday, several residents appeared to have come out from their homes or were passing by when they stopped to witness the press conference.

“Why don’t you answer my question Rob? I am a taxpayer who lives in this neighbourhood,” yelled one man, with his shirt on.

Despite the protest Tuesday, the mayor did speak from prepared statements about the Eglinton Connects project — a $150 million plan to redevelop 19 kilometres of that street into a pedestrian and transit friendly strip — claiming the implementation plan before council this week that will see lane reductions in one small stretch will cause traffic “chaos.”

“Eglinton Ave. is a key east-west artery of our city,” the mayor said. “Behind me, you will see a glimpse of what happens when lanes of traffic are removed from this crucial, crucial artery.”

He called a reduction in lanes “unacceptable” and promised to fight the implementation plan at council.

One of the police officers called to handle the conflict between the sign-wielding protestors and the mayor’s staff told the Star the traffic is usually not so bad and appeared to be caused by the media trucks parked on the road for the mayor’s statement.

The city’s chief planner Jennifer Keesmaat told the Star that there is only 1.5 kilometres between Oriole Parkway and Mt. Pleasant Rd. being reduced from five lanes to three. She said extensive traffic studies have been done to support that decision and that existing conditions already require pedestrians be given more of the right of way.

She noted that councillors — who earlier unanimously passed the plan at committee in Ford’s absence — called it a “blueprint” for future city planning.

Mayoral candidates running against Ford weighed in on the Eglinton Connects project Tuesday afternoon.

John Tory said he wouldn’t support “anything that’s going to take traffic lanes out of service.”

Olivia Chow said in a press release she supports the “people-friendly” and “business-friendly” project.

Karen Stintz said she was “shocked” Ford was opposing the plan.

“That Mayor Ford has decided to oppose this proposal at the last minute proves once again that he has no idea what is going on in his own administration,” she said in a release.