Ontario ombudsman ‘grandstanding’ in Sammy Yatim case, says police union head

The Ontario ombudsman's decision to launch an investigation into police practices following the shooting death of Toronto teen Sammy Yatim has received support from some the province's police officials, but Toronto police's union head considers it "grandstanding".

Andre Marin announced on Thursday that his office would conduct a full investigation into the measures police use to de-escalate tense situations, saying Yatim's death on board an otherwise empty streetcar was just the latest such instance in the province.

"It seems to be like Groundhog Day. Inquest after inquest. Police shooting after police shooting," Marin said on Thursday. Marin previously said that if police were unable to govern themselves, then it was the province's role to step in and get involved.

It is a stance that some did not support. Toronto Police Association president Mike McCormack said Marin was reaching outside his purview to investigate the high-profile case.

[ Related: Yatim shooting sparks ombudsman probe into police training ]

"I see nothing wrong with a discussion of police policies, procedures or what have you, but ... this keeps getting linked back to the Sammy Yatim shooting," McCormack told CBC's Matt Galloway on Friday.

McCormack said the ombudsman's decision to quickly launch his investigation suggests a lack of confidence in the Ontario Special Investigations Unit, currently conducting its own investigation into the shooting.

"Let's get the facts and let’s start talking about the facts, about what went wrong and what went right in the shooting. Then we can have some discussions and have some comparisons, and look at the broader picture," McCormack said.

“This seems awfully premature... at this point I would call it grandstanding, I'd call it irresponsible."

Marin is not afraid to appear in the spotlight, or take on police authority. His office has published two large and comprehensive reports on the power of the Ontario Special Investigations Unit and, more recently, one on police actions during Toronto's G20 Summit.

An anonymous Twitter user, alleged to be an active Toronto-area police officer, attacked Marin online on Thursday, calling him a member of al-Qaeda and warned him to keep his nose out of places it did not belong.

[ More Brew: Did a police officer attack Ontario's ombudsman online? ]

The attack came to light after Marin responded to the comments and publicly alleged the offending account belonged to a Durham Regional Police officer.

The account was quickly deleted and Durham Regional Police have launched an investigation. (More recently, the Globe and Mail reported the Twitter account was created with the officer's work email address.

"Emotions run high when you talk about police oversight," Marin said of the attack. "It is part of the turf. I get these from time to time."

Grandstanding or not, it is fair for Marin to use his office to look into the Yatim shooting. He has said the investigation will not affect the ongoing SIU probe (indeed, the SIU has welcomed his investigation) but instead focus on de-escalation tactics used in the province – based on guidelines set by the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services.

Marin likened it to the B.C. inquiry into the death of Robert Dziekanski, which focused on the use of conductive energy weapons.

When things of this size go wrong, they tend to go wrong in a number of ways. The SIU is investigating what happened the night Yatim was killed. Consider Marin's investigation a look at what led up to that night. And how to stop that night from happening again.

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