ST. GEORGE — The parents of a St. George student who was killed in November while handling a blank-firing prop pistol just before a school play have sued police and school officials.
The lawsuit contends that a safety plan for the .38 caliber revolver was repeatedly violated in the weeks before Tucker Thayer's death.
Thayer, 15, was struck in the head with a blank several hours before a Nov. 15 production of "Oklahoma!" He died later that night.
The lawsuit says that despite police requirements that the gun be transported, controlled and fired only by an adult, it was often carried to Deseret Hills High School by the owner's minor daughter in a lockbox in her backpack.
The lawsuit also says that the gun and blanks were left in the pack — unattended — in a sound booth.
Thayer was the only person in the sound booth when the cast of "Oklahoma!" heard a loud noise. The prop pistol was found in his hands shortly before the play was to begin.
"They were typical 15-year-old kids being stupid 15-year-old kids. I blame my son to a point," said Ron Thayer, Tucker's father. "He's the one who picked up the gun. But the gun never should have been there for him to pick up."
The Thayers say they are seeking more than $2 million in damages for wrongful death and negligence. The amount includes $10,701 for hospital bills; $4,114 for EMT services; $2,086 for a medical helicopter; $10,550 for funeral expenses; $800 for a headstone and $2 million for pain and suffering.
The lawsuit was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court by Ron and Cathie Thayer. It names the city of St. George and school resource police officer Stacy Richan; the Washington County School District, Eaton and Assistant Principal Robert Goulding; and gun owner David Amodt.
Both police and the school district have declined to comment on the pending litigation.
"They allowed a malfunctioning, dangerous gun in the school and handed it to kids," said Ron Thayer, who spent 20 years in the military and said he'd have stopped the gun from being used in the play had he known it was real. "We never want this to happen again."
The lawsuit also contends the Thayers' constitutional rights were violated and that school officials and Amodt violated a state law that prohibits providing a gun to a minor.