Laboy Files $10M Suit Against Alexandria Yellow Cab
Alexandria Police Officer Peter Laboy is alleging Alexandria Yellow Cab was negligent in the hiring and supervision of its drivers. Driver Kashif Bashir is accused of shooting Laboy in the head.
http://oldtownalexandria.patch.com/articles/police-officer-peter-laboy-files-10m-suit-against-alexandria-yellow-cab
Peter Laboy, the Alexandria police officer who was shot in the head Feb. 27 while responding to an incident involving an Alexandria Yellow Cab driver, filed civil suit Monday alleging the taxi company was negligent in the hiring and supervision of its drivers and that such negligence contributed to the shooting of a police officer.
The suit is claiming $10 million in compensatory damages—$5 million for one count of negligent hiring and retention and $5 million for one count of negligent entrustment. The complaint cites damages of lost wages, medical fees and "compensation for mental anguish, pain and suffering."
Laboy’s lawyers are demanding a jury trial.
The suit claims Alexandria Yellow Cab failed to perform any type of background screening prior to hiring Kashif Bashir, the suspect in Laboy’s shooting. It also claims that the company failed to supervise and monitor Bashir in the four years he worked with the company.
According to the complaint, Alexandria Yellow Cab made a vehicle available to Bashir on the day Laboy was shot "for his unsupervised and unrestricted use."
Following his arrest, authorities found a loaded Sig Sauer P250 semi-automatic handgun with 13 rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber inside Bashir's Yellow Cab vehicle, according to the complaint. There were also six cans of beer, some of which were empty.
According to the complaint:
"[Alexandria Yellow Cab] through its reckless, wanton, and grossly negligent hiring, entrustment and oversight of Bashir, provided Bashir with the means and instrumentality of Bashir’s crime, without which the crime would not have occurred."
Bashir, a Woodbridge resident, has been convicted on 17 charges in Fairfax County, including a 2011 charge for tampering with a vehicle and several traffic violations. Bashir was convicted of speeding three times in the past decade, along with failure to obey a traffic signal in four instances, including an offense earlier in 2013.
• See: Suspect in Alexandria Police Shooting Has Long History of Traffic Violations, Other Charges
Other charges against Bashir have been dismissed in recent years, including a violation for good behavior on a misdemeanor offense and illegal sale of unapproved equipment. A charge of misdemeanor assault in 2011 was not prosecuted, according to Fairfax County Court records.
Alexandria police said Bashir had an active license to drive a taxicab despite his numerous violations. Alexandria’s hack inspector, an officer in the Alexandria Police Department, is responsible for addressing the licensing of drivers every two years.
• See: Police: Suspect in Alexandria Police Shooting Underwent Background Check
"The hack inspector is just a single layer of initial oversight—just a minimal level of review." said David Martin, an Atlanta-based attorney representing Laboy. "Yellow Cab sees these drivers on a day-to-day basis. That's where the complaints come in that where any concerning trends can be seen. The company is responsible for having that information at its finger tips."
The suit claims Alexandria Yellow Cab had a duty to ensure that its drivers “are responsible, law-abiding and safe, through appropriate background checks and ongoing oversight and monitoring,” Martin wrote in a message. “The company failed to do this, with catastrophic consequences.”
Alexandria Yellow Cab is defined as a common carrier in Virginia, something Martin said raises issues of public trust in this incident.
The suit also claims the company regularly fails to conduct adequate background investigations with all of its drivers and fails to supervise its drivers in a manner to maintain public safety.
"They are unleashing this army of drivers that leaves the community vulnerable," he said.
Alexandria Yellow Cab did not immediately return a request for comment Monday.
Laboy, 45, of Alexandria, was responding to a look out from the department for a yellow cab minivan for a minor offense on Feb. 27 when he was shot in the head.
Soon after Laboy approached the cab, the Department of Emergency Communications began receiving emergency calls reporting an officer down.
Laboy was flown to Medstar Washington Hospital Center from the fields outside of Lyles-Crouch Traditional Academy and had several hours of immediate surgery.
The driver of the cab fled the scene at Wilkes and St. Asaph streets when a patrol officer spotted the vehicle going south on Washington Street into Fairfax County.
A police chase ensued and Fairfax County Police took over the situation when the cab entered their jurisdiction. The cab crashed off Fort Hunt Road and Bashir was arrested.
Laboy was released from the hospital in late April and has undergone multiple surgeries and intense therapy. According to the complaint, Laboy suffered severe and permanent debilitating injuries and life-long pain and suffering because of the injury.
Laboy's wife spoke with reporters last month about his recovery and his desire to return to the police department.
• See: Wife of Officer Peter Laboy: 'It Was Not His Time to Go'
Bashir, 27, is facing one count of attempted capital murder of a law enforcement officer, one count of aggravated malicious wounding and two counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
On May 24, it was announced Bashir will face a mental competency hearing. Bashir's defense attorneys said he suffers from auditory hallucinations and believes that people involved in his case are speaking to him telepathically. Bashir is currently being evaluated for a 45-day period to determine if he is fit to stand trial.
The vehicle reportedly driven by shooting suspect Kashif Bashir crashed near the Belle Haven neighborhood in Fairfax County following a police chase Feb. 27, 2013.Credit Jessie Biele
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