The Canadian Press

Police radio transmission in Manitoba bus slaying leaked on Internet

Sat Aug 2, 4:59 PM

By The Canadian Press

TORONTO - A chilling recording of a radio transmission between RCMP officers responding to the killing of a man who was stabbed and dismembered aboard a Greyhound bus in Manitoba was leaked on the Internet and received widespread attention Saturday.

On the recording, one officer describes the suspect - who police code-named Badger-moving around the bus, which was barricaded by the driver and a passenger.

"Badger is armed with a knife and a pair of scissors and he is defiling the body at the front of the bus as we speak," an officer says on the transmission.

The approximately 80-second recording was posted on several websites, including YouTube, where it had registered nearly 8,000 hits before it was made unavailable early Saturday afternoon.

The RCMP issued a news release stressing they had not given permission to use the transmission as they are "operational police communications and as such are not meant for public consumption. "

"Okay, Badger's at the back of the bus, hacking off pieces and eating it," the transmission ends.

Witnesses said this week that the victim, Tim McLean, 22, was attacked by a big man on the bus near Portage la Prairie, Man.

They described how McLean, from Winnipeg, was stabbed repeatedly Wednesday as the driver ushered passengers off the bus and barricaded the door shut so the attacker couldn't escape.

Two witnesses said the attacker came to the front of the bus holding McLean's head.

Police have only confirmed McLean was stabbed but have not released details of the horrifying killing.

McLean's family was expected to make a statement Saturday.

Police laid a charge of second-degree murder this week against a suspect, Vince Weiguang Li, 40, of Edmonton.

Li made his first appearance in court Friday and is scheduled to be back before a judge in Portage la Prairie on Tuesday.

Li has not entered a plea to the charges, which haven't been proven in court, and as of early Friday had not retained a lawyer to represent him.

There were media reports that Li worked as a newspaper carrier for the Edmonton Sun and Edmonton Journal.

As the police investigation continues, the online forums that sprouted shortly after the tragedy have transformed into a sprawling online community, with tens of thousands showing support for McLean's family and expressing disgust for the act itself.

One of the many groups on the social networking site Facebook has accumulated over 40,000 members with more than 2,000 wall posts.

"I never knew Tim and his family, but I wish all the best in this awful time," wrote Tamara from Edmonton.

Tracy in Calgary called McLean's death "a senseless loss of life."

"It's something right out of a horror movie," added Sheena in Edmonton.

Some news coverage videos on YouTube have received upwards of 40,000 hits, and a number of people have weighed on the issue, publishing Webcam video of themselves trying to deal with what happened.

In Dallas, Greyhound spokesperson Abby Wambaugh said ridership is remaining stable despite the tragedy.

"As of right now we've seen little to no impact on ticket sales and inter-city bus travel continues to be a safe way to travel," said Wambaugh in a phone interview.

She said she couldn't comment on how the bus driver is faring, citing privacy reasons, but stressed that in the case of a violent passenger, the driver handled the situation by the book.

"They are taught to immediately pull over the bus and call the authorities," said Wambaugh.

"The bus driver did exactly what our policy states."

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