Report: Judge Rules Cab Driver 'Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity' in Shooting of Alexandria Police Officer

A judge has ruled Thursday that a cab driver who shot an Alexandria police officer in the head during a traffic stop is not guilty by reason of insanity, according to a report broadcast by WTOP.

Alexandria Circuit Court Judge James C. Clark said that the testimony of mental health experts, in particular, had convinced him that Kashif Bashir, 29, did not understand what he was doing, The Washington Post reported.

“To characterize this case as a tragedy, I would suggest, grossly understates the facts,” the Post reported Clark as saying. “Having said that, I’ve got to deal with facts. I’ve got to deal with evidence.”

Kashif Bashir, the cab driver who shot Alexandria Police Officer Peter Laboy during a traffic stop Feb. 27, 2013 in Old Town near Wilkes and South St. Asaph streets, went on trial this week.

After the verdict was read, Laboy, 46, retained his composure but his wife Suzanne was seen crying, the Post reported. The Laboys are parents to four children.

Although Laboy was wearing his motor helmet at the time of the shooting, the bullet struck him in the temple, pierced his skull and penetrated the portion of the brain that controls speech and motor skills. Laboy has endured a long recovery, including intense therapy.

Bashir, 29, was charged with attempted capital murder in the shooting of Laboy, 46, a husband and father of four.

The attorney for cab driver Bashir had said at the outset he would use an insanity defense, The Washington Post reported this week. Bashir, a resident of Woodbridge, was twice declared incompetent to stand trial.

(Also read: Man Charged with Shooting Alexandria Police Officer Ruled Incompetent to Stand Trial)