But the couple had called police, and the suspect fled. He was stopped at the intersection near 4500 Cottage Grove Road, Payne said. It was there the first officers “drew their weapons.”

In custody, Thompson was placed in a squad car, where he reportedly punched the windows and kicked the door from its frame.

Police said Thompson spit in the face of an officer, talked about blowing up the city and claimed he “kills cops.”

Police questioned the couple, who were visiting Madison from Cookeville, Tennessee. Police confirmed the man’s gun possession was legal, Payne said. The suspect had approached the man in the car, possibly panhandling, and had been waved away, Payne said.

Payne described the lookalike weapon that was confiscated as a lighter with an attached laser.

“This item looked like a functional four-and-one-half inch chrome-plated firearm and prompted a reasonable response from the male victim,” Payne said.

Thompson was held on potential charges of using a facsimile firearm, resisting a police officer, two counts of disorderly conduct, possession of a laser pointer and underage consumption.