The man accused of shooting an Alexandria police officer will face a mental competency hearing after a judge granted a defense motion Friday.
Kashif Bashir faces charges of aggravated malicious wounding, attempted murder of a law enforcement officer and two counts of using a weapon in the commission of a felony. The taxi driver is accused of shooting Alexandria police Officer Peter Laboy in the head Feb. 27 as Laboy attempted a routine stop of Bashir's taxi.
His defense attorneys claimed that Bashir suffers from auditory hallucinations and believes that people involved in his case are speaking to him telepathically. During last month's hearing, for example, Bashir reportedly thought both the prosecutor and judge were sending him telepathic messages. His attorneys wrote Bashir also thinks they "shape-shift, manipulate their age and walk through walls."
His attorneys also wrote Bashir "lacks substantial capacity to understand the proceedings against him."
A prominent forensic psychologist who interviewed Bashir calls him "deeply and densely delusional."
A judge appointed another forensic psychologist, Dr. Anita Voss, to evaluate Bashir to see if he is competent to stand trial. The evaluation will be complete in 45 days, then lawyers will return to court to determine whether Bashir is competent to stand trial.
Bashir was arrested after a high-speed chase on the George Washington Parkway.
After the shooting, Laboy spent weeks in the hospital and underwent several operations, including one May 8 to put plates inside his head. That surgery has allowed him to ditch the Superman-branded helmet he’d worn since the shooting.
“He hated that helmet,” Suzanne Laboy said, but he hadn’t been permitted to get out of bed without it. It was a safety hazard, especially in their lively home full of children and dogs.
Laboy faces at least another nine months of therapy.
The Laboys' four children -- ages 4, 6, 13 and 14 -- are doing all right, Suzanne said Tuesday.
“They're glad their dad's home and they have a lot of love and support around them as well," she said. "It's going to be a long road for all of us."
While Peter Laboy says every day he wants to get back on his police motorcycle, Suzanne Laboy said she doesn’t know whether that will happen -- or if she wants it to. However, she's glad to see her husband’s determination.
"In his mind right now, he says he would get back tomorrow if the chief would let him," she said. "It's not up to the chief, it's not up to Peter, but he says that, and that's good stuff."
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
- Shot Alexandria Police Officer Prepares for More Surgery
- Recovering Officer Returns Home, Visits Department
- Alexandria Police Officer Shooting Case Goes to Grand Jury
- Doctors: Shot Police Officer Defying the Odds
- Next 2-3 Days Critical for Officer Shot in the Head