Police Say July 4 Tape May Be Evidence Against Its Owner

Police said Thursday that they located a videotape confiscated from a bicyclist July 4 and may use it as evidence to seek criminal charges against him.

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Huntington Beach spokesman Michael Corcoran said police believe that the tape may show that the owner, Michael W. Thayer, three times ignored police orders to leave the scene when they were trying to control crowds during the nighttime melee near the downtown.

Failure to disperse, Corcoran said, is a misdemeanor punishable with a fine or jail time.

Thayer, 21, said that on July 5, he contacted the Police Department to ask for his tape and was told by someone in the property division that there was no record of it. That police now might use it to seek charges against him, he said, “is ridiculous. . . . I can’t believe they are doing this.”

Thayer, a Huntington Beach resident, said he pedaled his bicycle through the city with a camcorder attached to the helmet he wore with the intention of documenting the holiday celebration.

Corcoran said police hope that the audio portion of the tape will prove that Thayer ignored police warnings. But Thayer contends that he did not break the law. He acknowledges, however, that he attended a party that police broke up, sending party-goers home, and that he lingered in the area longer than police wanted because he was waiting for his girlfriend.

Several hours later, he said, police stopped and took his tape when he was riding to a friend’s home through an area that had just been cleared of revelers. Thayer said he called the Police Department the next day in search of the tape but several police officers said they knew nothing about it.

Corcoran said that police concentrated on arresting the most violent offenders but wrote down information about others, such as Thayer, who might be charged later.

Police located Thayer’s tape Thursday afternoon, Corcoran said, after a report about Thayer’s July 4 encounters with law enforcement came to the attention of a detective who recognized Thayer as the man who wanted his tape. The tape is being held in the Police Department’s property division, he said.

Corcoran said police aren’t exactly sure what is on the tape, since they don’t yet have access to the equipment needed to play it.

Thayer, who was planning to file a formal complaint about his tape being confiscated, said he is baffled about the turn of events.

“I don’t see how they can use it against me without my permission,” he said. “I’m definitely going to get some legal help tomorrow. This is getting way out of hand. All I want is my tape back.”

Corcoran said Thayer can be assured he will get his tape back, after police make a copy.