"Police have not charged driver who appears to have been doing taxpayer-funded work when incident happened"
“What the f--k is wrong with you?” one protester can be heard saying as another person in the crowd smacks the plow’s salter with a sign.
"A photograph from the scene shows the driver giving the crowd the middle finger.
"Omar Mahmoud, one of the protesters that night, told CBC Toronto the group was chanting demands for changes to the U.S. plan for Gaza, when the lights of the plow approached and fear set in.
”When you are a Palestinian in this community you are always afraid of these things happening. Your worst assumptions come through,” he said. “It’s still shocking that this happened.”
"The vehicle has signage for A&F Di Carlo Construction, one of the companies contracted to do snow-clearing work in the City of Toronto. The plow’s salter has City of Toronto signage.
"Fausto Di Carlo, spokesperson for A&F Di Carlo Construction Inc., said in a statement Thursday the company is aware of the "unfortunate incident" involving its sidewalk plow equipment.
"Di Carlo said its crew was on a "preseason practice run" required by its contract. It had notified the city but was not told about "any unusual activity" in the area.
" 'Our operator was trying to do her job under difficult circumstances and feared for her personal safety. She had no other option but to remove herself from the situation slowly and carefully which is what she did. We note that police who were on-site had no concerns with her actions," Di Carlo said." . . .
John Rieti started with CBC News in 2008 as a Peter Gzowski intern in Newfoundland, and holds a master of journalism degree from Toronto Metropolitan University. As a reporter, John has covered everything from the Blue Jays to Toronto city hall. He now leads a CBC Toronto digital team that has won multiple Radio Television Digital News Association awards for overall excellence in online reporting.

