Editorial

FORMER OFFICER'S ACTIONS GAVE PLENTY OF WARNING

Timothy D. Thayer's final fit of violence Sunday perhaps could have been
prevented before it cost his life and three others. Thayer, a former State
Bureau of Investigation agent and High Point police officer, killed his
ex-wife, his 9-year-old son and a friend of his ex-wife, then himself, at
her home near High Point in northeast Davidson County.

Thayer had threatened Theresa Thayer many times, and had even fired shots
in her home, according to people who knew the couple.

"She had been afraid of her ex-husband for quite a while," a friend of
Theresa Thayer told Enterprise reporter Ronda Cranford. "She'd had several
different restraining orders, but it seemed like nobody could really stop him."

Perhaps authorities could have tried harder. Thayer was fired from the High
Point Police Department Aug. 16, 2002, for discharging his firearm
"carelessly and recklessly ... after consuming alcohol." The same day, he
instigated an armed, 90-minute standoff with police officers at a High
Point apartment. That incident was resolved peacefully, and police did not
file charges against Thayer. Nor did they even confirm Thayer's identity,
which an Enterprise reporter ascertained independently.

At that time, it would have been appropriate to direct Thayer into a
program of psychiatric assistance. He was already acting aggressively
toward his estranged wife and engaging in reckless behavior as a police
officer. Thayer's fuse apparently had been burning for a long time. If
anyone tried to put it out, the effort was not effective.

In March 2001, Thayer was invited to speak to fifth-grade students
completing the Drug Abuse Resistance Education course at Liberty Drive
Elementary School in Thomasville. At the time, he was the SBI's resident
agent in Davidson County. His words to the students, as reported in an
Enterprise news story, were tragically ironic.

"Drugs and violence are simply for those people who don't have the strength
to stand alone and do what's right," he said.

He added that living with purpose allows people to keep a healthy sense of
priorities and not make decisions that will hurt themselves or other people.

Thayer's purpose in life turned in a horribly destructive way. Some people,
including his former wife, saw it happening and were afraid.

Others who should have seen the danger and done something to help failed to
act decisively. Now it's too late.