Trial begins in shooting of Alexandria officer

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A trial has begun for a taxi driver accused of shooting and seriously wounding an Alexandria police officer, even though the man has been found incompetent twice for the proceeding.

Twenty-nine-year-old Kashif Bashir of Woodbridge pleaded not guilty Monday by reason of insanity to attempted capital murder stemming from the February 2013 shooting of Officer Peter Laboy. Laboy, a father of four, suffered critical injuries to the head that still affect him, but has made a remarkable recovery.

The Washington Post reports (http://wapo.st/1plDifR ) that Bashir’s trial comes as a surprise. He was declared incompetent for trial twice, and court filings indicate he’s being forced to take anti-psychotic medication to allow the proceeding to continue.

A judge rejected a request from Bashir’s attorney to stop those medications during the trial.

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Information from: The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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