Man Accused of Shooting Alexandria Officer Deemed Competent to Stand Trial

The man accused of shooting Alexandria police officer Peter Laboy has again been ruled competent to stand trial.

The suspect, Kashif Bashir, was a taxi driver in 2013 when he was accused of shooting Laboy in the head during a traffic stop in Old Town Alexandria.

Since the February 2013 shooting, the competency rulings on Bashir have been reversed several times.

Bashir has again received medication and treatment at Virginia's Central State Hospital, and staff there say they believe he is competent to can stand trial, reported Northern Virginia Bureau Chief Julie Carey on Thursday.

Officer Laboy, a 17-year veteran of the Alexandria police force, was riding a motorcycle when he attempted to pull over Bashir's cab after complaints that he had been behaving suspiciously.

Laboy was shot in the head after approaching Bashir's cab, and suffered a "catastrophic" gunshot wound to the temple that most people wouldn't have survived, a doctor said.

Laboy survived with a traumatic brain injury, and has had to relearn how to speak and walk. But he has been determined to once again serve on the police force, and has been focused on his recovery. He received Alexandria's Gold Award for Valor this spring.

Bashir was initially ruled incompetent to stand trial in July 2013. Early in 2014, he was ruled fit to stand trial, but lawyers warned that his mental condition could deteriorate once he was transferred from Virginia's Central State Hospital to prison.

Bashir was again found incompetent in late March, and his lawyers said Bashir's mental state became progressively worse. He was returned to Central State Hospital, where he received medication and treatment.

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