Man Killed by Officers Had Waved Starter Pistol

The pistol brandished by Michael Alan Thayer, a 49-year-old ex-convict who was fatally shot on live television last week after a three-hour car chase, was a starter’s pistol incapable of firing a bullet, officials said Tuesday.

Thayer, who lived in Riverside, was struck by 17 bullets fired by six San Diego police and California Highway Patrol officers from a distance of 30 to 50 feet, according to authorities. Of the 17 bullets, six remained lodged in Thayer’s arms, legs and torso.

More than 40 rounds were fired in two volleys, a few seconds apart, as Thayer was knocked to the pavement of Interstate 805 and then appeared to be attempting to regain his footing.

Thayer had served six stretches in California prisons beginning in 1987 for offenses including assault, theft, forgery and parole violations, according to state records. He had an outstanding warrant for drunk driving, which probably would have led to further incarceration.

Thayer’s conduct has led to speculation that the incident was another example of the phenomenon called “suicide by cop,” where distressed individuals engage police in ways sure to result in their deaths.

A starter’s pistol, although not capable of firing a bullet, is virtually identical in appearance to a lethal firearm, particularly from a distance. Interviewed by police investigators after the shooting, some of the officers said they believed that the pistol Thayer aimed at them was a police service revolver.

“As a cop, when someone aims a gun at you, you’re not going to take time to look down the barrel and count the rounds in the chamber,” said San Diego homicide Lt. Glenn Breitenstein. “You have to make a split-second decision.”

As Breitenstein and other homicide investigators continue to examine the chase and its bloody conclusion to determine, among other things, whether the shooting was justified, Thayer’s family is attempting to arrange a funeral.

Family members reported having seen televised accounts of the incident, captured by five television news helicopters from stations in San Diego and Los Angeles.

Thayer’s teenage daughter, Amber, who lives in Paducah, Ky., with her mother, Thayer’s estranged wife, told a reporter, “We really don’t want to be bothered. Please respect my family’s privacy. All I will say is, he wasn’t just my dad, he was my best friend.”

At the apartment complex in Riverside where Thayer lived, a neighbor said of Amber Thayer, “she was his whole life.” But the neighbor could offer no explanation for Thayer’s behavior during the chase, which included waving at onlookers, throwing notes out the window, and appearing to check messages on his pager.

The Thayer family has issued a written statement saying, “The family of Michael Thayer is profoundly saddened by his death. But they are also very grateful to the neighbors, friends, co-workers and acquaintances who have called to relate stories each one has of Mike’s quiet acts of kindness and assistance.”

The chase began at 6:45 a.m. Friday when a San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy spotted expired registration tags on Thayer’s 1979 Datsun 280Z and attempted to stop the car in Rancho Cucamonga.

Thayer sped off and sparked a chase that continued through four counties and on numerous freeways before ending on Interstate 805 in mid-San Diego.