Toronto police have confirmed that they received a tip Sunday night about a video posted online that may be connected to the international hunt for a man wanted in a gruesome homicide and dismemberment case.
Const. Wendy Drummond confirmed that a man from the United States called Toronto Police Service's non-emergency line at 10:30 p.m. on Sunday night to report a suspicious video.
An online video has now been connected to the international manhunt for Luka Magnotta, who is wanted in connection with an investigation into body parts found in Montreal and sent in the mail to Conservative Party headquarters in Ottawa.
The operator who took the call, a civilian member of the police service, told the caller to call Crime Stoppers, Drummond said.
The man who made that call has been identified as Montana lawyer Roger Renville. He told CTV News Thursday that he contacted various Canadian police forces after coming across the video last weekend, but none took action.
"I saw a video that clearly shows a brutal murder that runs for about 10 and a half minutes. The video includes things that I can't even say right now, they are just horrendous," he told CTV.
Renville told CTV he contacted various law enforcement agencies in Canada and the United States but none showed much interest, with the exception of the RCMP.
Drummond said that Toronto police have listened to the tape and the operator who took the call did nothing wrong.
"Hindsight obviously, being what it is, the actions of the call-taker are deemed to be reasonable," Drummond said.
The operator who took the call directed the caller to Crime Stoppers because it wasn't obvious that the incident reported took place in Toronto.
The caller said he suspected it could have been somewhere in Canada, Drummond confirmed.
Crime Stoppers would have been better able to deal with the call because the organization has international connections, Drummond said.
"Toronto police receives a number of calls about crimes that happen in other parts of the world, even, and by going to Crime Stoppers, they can direct an investigation to a more suitable location of where the incident could be investigated," Drummond said.
The call, or information in the call, was not passed from the civilian operator to a police officer, Drummond said.
She said that the civilian operator did not view the video, nor was the call taker provided with a link to the video.
The investigation into how the call was dealt with is now complete, Drummond said.
