REVIEW DEFENDS FATAL SHOOTING.

Byline: Kevin F. Sherry Daily News Staff Writer

SWAT team members followed policy when they fatally shot a distraught Apple Valley man who pointed a handgun at them after a four-hour standoff, authorities said Thursday.

Police investigators determined that Detectives John Parks and Bill Daniels and K-9 Officer Sterling Johnson - all veterans of the Special Weapons Team - were in compliance with department policies and the law when they shot and killed Stephen Bayer early Monday, said Lt. Neal Rein.

Officers are authorized to use deadly force when they determine they or someone else is in danger of great bodily injury and no alternative is available, Rein said.

The preliminary investigation focused on administrative as well as criminal issues, Rein said. Additional evidence will be gathered, but the report's conclusions likely will stand.

``There will be more (investigation) and it primarily revolves around the physical evidence,'' he said. ``Whatever the outcome, it's not going to change our evaluation of what actually happened.''

Bayer, 39, whose funeral was Thursday, fired at San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies during a pursuit that started late Sunday near his home in Apple Valley and ended in Simi Valley, where Bayer once lived.

After exiting the Ronald Reagan Freeway, Bayer sped through the streets of Simi Valley, eventually crashing through gates at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library before heading out again. He wound up in the 4800 block of Leeds Street, where he held officers at bay for four hours.

About 6 a.m. Monday, police fired tear gas into his car and he got out, pointing a .45-caliber pistol at officers. Police opened fire, and Bayer was hit five times, officials say.