Ex-wife of slain officer says he dreamed of career in law enforcement

As a child, Troung Thai dreamed of being a police officer.

“When he finally accomplished his dream of becoming a police officer, it meant the world to him,” his ex-wife, Angela Thai, said Monday. “He always wanted do right by everybody, help everybody.”

Angela Thai said family members were overwhelmed with the support they had received since Thai, a 23-year officer of the Metropolitan Police Department, was fatally shot on Thursday.

She spoke to the Las Vegas Review-Journal during a fundraiser sponsored by the Injured Police Officers Fund.

The parking lot of Nevada Coin Mart, on South Jones Boulevard and West Flamingo Road, turned into a taco stand and a makeshift store for Injured Police Officers Fund merchandise during the event, which was scheduled to last until 3 p.m. The fund will raise money over the next three months in a bank account that will go to Thai’s family.

“If you come here today, it’s not about the money,” Coin Mart owner Neil Sackmary said Monday morning. “Come here and say hello to an officer. Come here and say, ‘I appreciate you. I thank you very much.’”

Thai, 49, had been an officer with the Metropolitan Police Department since 1999. He died Thursday morning after he was shot while responding to a domestic battery near UNLV.

The 24-year-old shooting suspect, Tyson Hampton, was arrested nearby and booked on charges of murder, attempted murder and domestic battery.

Angela Thai said Truong Thai loved to take their daughter sailing to Catalina Island in Southern California and coached volleyball for several years. Jada Thai, 19, stood next to her mother Monday, but she declined to be interviewed.

The Injured Police Officers Fund sold bracelets, T-shirts and food, and accepted donations in exchange for wooden cars that were donated by a Las Vegas resident. Project Director Minddie Lloyd said the organization is a nonprofit, so all the money raised goes directly to the family for any upcoming costs.

“There’s some expenses that the family is facing right now and him leaving a daughter, college, future needs that she will have and the family will need,” Lloyd said.

Tom Ratzsch, a retired city of Las Vegas employee, remembered working with Thai for almost three years before Ratzsch went to New York to assist with the aftermath of 9/11. Thai and Ratzsch worked together on the city’s Explorer Program, which prepares teenagers for jobs in law enforcement.

“He was so good with the kids and helped out with a lot of kids,” Ratzsch said. “He was always the guy to go to. No matter how bad situations were, he would make light of it.”

Ratzsch said two of the students they trained are now sergeants for the Las Vegas city marshals office, and one is a supervisor for the FBI.

Public visitation for Thai is set for Oct. 27, from 5 to 8 p.m., at King David Memorial Chapel, 2697 E. Eldorado Lane. A funeral is set for 10 a.m. on Oct. 28 at Central Church, 1001 New Beginnings Drive in Henderson.

Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter. Kevin Cannon contributed to this report.