Officer Laboy Retires from Alexandria Police Department

(Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story noted the ‘City’s Valor Awards.‘ The Valor Awards are organized by the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce.)

Alexandria Police Officer Peter Laboy is retiring from the police force, according to messages posted to social media Wednesday by the police department and accompanied by two photos.

“Officer Laboy thanks those from @AlexandriaVAFD & @AlexVASheriff who helped save his life in Feb 2013.”

“Officer Laboy thanks those from @AlexandriaVAFD & @AlexVASheriff who helped save his life in Feb 2013.”

Laboy suffered brain damage after he was shot in the head and nearly killed in Feb. 27, 2013 while attempting to stop former cab driver Kashif Bashir near Wilkes and St. Aspah streets. A local boutique had contacted police about the man’s suspicious behavior.

A judge ruled last October that Bashir was not guilty in the shooting, by reason of insanity.

Doctors have described Laboy’s recovery as “miraculous,” but the husband and father suffers from traumatic seizure disorder as a result of the shooting and will never recover, a neuro-psychiatrist said during the trial. Laboy and his wife Suzanna are the parents of four children.

The Alexandria Police and the community have rallied around the Laboy family. Laboy was awarded a gold medal at the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce Valor Awards last year, the highest honor for valor and heroism.