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At one point during the remarks, Ford’s chief of staff, Dan Jacobs approached Furr. The two men stood close to each other and argued. “Take your hand off me! Don’t touch me! … Get out of my face Dan,” Furr said. A few moments later the two argued briefly about who was touching whom.

From less than two meters away, any contact between the two appeared innocuous at worst. Jacobs tried to stay in front of Furr for a time, weaving back and forth in front of the topless man. “Don’t push me,” he told Furr.

“Don’t back into me,” Furr replied. “I’m not,” Jacobs said. “I’m walking back and forth.”

Jacobs then phoned police. At least five officers eventually arrived. No arrests were made.

Afterward, Furr accused the mayor’s staff of trying to stifle his rights. “Dan Jacobs tried to interfere with me having my free speech,” he said. “He came up to me. … He put his hands on me and started shoving me backwards. I’m not going to be intimidated politically by the mayor’s staff.”

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Later, at City Hall, Jacobs refused to say whether he shoved Furr. He also did respond when asked why he phoned police.

Marier, who joined Ford as a full-time sobriety coach after his release from rehab last week, did not respond to shouted questions from reporters. CBC reported Ford is paying Marier for his services.

The mayor, meanwhile, did his best to ignore it all. After addressing a crowd gathered for the kickoff of the Scotiabank Carnival, he posed for photos while reporters asked him several variations on the same question: “Did your sobriety coach kick a protestor.” Ford did not provide an answer.