Ontario ombudsman attacked online as announces investigation into Sammy Yatim shooting

A bizarre Twitter attack erupted on Thursday against Ontario Ombudsman Andre Marin from an anonymous user he claims is a current member of the Durham Regional Police Service.

About an hour before Marin announced that his office would launch a full investigation into the shooting death of Sammy Yatim, who died following an interaction with Toronto police, a Twitter account accused him of being a member of al-Qaeda and warned him not to stick his nose in police business.

It is unclear whether the Yatim investigation is what prompted the alleged online harassment.

"Emotions run high when you talk about police oversight," Marin said during a press conference to announce the start of the Yatim investigation. "It is part of the turf. I get these from time to time."

Two messages were sent to Marin from an account @joeymayo12, whose bio suggested his only goal in life was to "expose Andre Marin for the leach (sic) on society he is."

The account has since been deleted, as have the tweets directed at Marin. Here is an image of the messages captured before they were deleted.

Marin says he knows the actual identity of the Twitter user and named it as an active Durham Regional Police detective constable. He has declined to explain how he confirmed the identity.

[ More Brew: Ombudsman: Toronto police lack trust after Yatim shooting ]

He told reporters he had not yet decided what his next step will be. A call to Durham Regional Police has not yet been returned.

Several other Twitter users have come to Marin's defence, suggesting the attack was evidence that he was right to question the need for more police oversight.

Marin said his office's investigation will focus on the de-escalation tactics used by police in Ontario and would not affect an ongoing investigation by the province's Special Investigations Unit.

“Our investigation will look at the Ontario government’s role. The Ministry (of Community Safety and Correctional Services) can set standards for police training or procedures across the province, for example, as was done in B.C. after the police-involved death of Robert Dziekanski," Marin said in a statement.