Former Alexandria Police Chief: Laboy a 'Fun Guy and Real Caring Individual'
Former Alexandria police chief David Baker shares his thoughts of Officer Peter Laboy, who was shot in the head Wednesday in Old Town.
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David Baker, a former Alexandria police chief, says Officer Peter Laboy is a devoted family man who is well liked by his fellow police officers and has proved to be a steady presence on Alexandria’s streets throughout his career with the department.
• See: Update on Condition of Officer Shot in Alexandria
“He’s a good man, a good and decent man,” Baker said. “He’s an outstanding and distinguished public servant. … He’s very popular with his colleagues, a fun guy to be around and a real caring individual.”
Laboy, 45, remains in critical condition at Medstar Washington Hospital after being shot in the head Wednesday morning during a routine traffic stop in Old Town.
Baker, who was second-in-command with the Alexandria Police Department when Laboy joined the force, said he approved Laboy’s transfer to the APD Motor Unit when he was police chief.
“As I travel around the city now, from my house in Alexandria to Goodwin House where I work, I can tell you more frequently than not I see Peter on the street working,” Baker said.
Laboy, a city resident, is a 17-year veteran of the department. He served as a patrol officer before transferring to the Motor Unit six years ago. He has spent his whole career on the street.
Baker said on Tuesday, the day before the shooting, Laboy pulled up beside Baker’s car when he was stopped at a stoplight and gave him a honk and a wave.
“I’m grateful we connected in that way,” Baker said.
Alexandria Sheriff Dana Lawhorne worked with Laboy for several years when he was with the Alexandria Police Department.
"Peter is a not only an excellent police officer, but a great guy and a dedicated family man," Lawhorne said. "He has always been committed to serving the public and to his mission as a law enforcement officer."
Baker said Laboy frequently posts photos of his family on his Facebook page and will often tell friends how proud he is of them.
"Mango" Mike Anderson, owner of three restaurants in Alexandria, said Laboy once helped catch someone who was stealing from Mango Mike's Caribbean Restaurant in the West End. Laboy also found Anderson's dog when it was lost.
"I got a phone call and he said 'I think I have your dog,'" Anderson said. "He's just a really nice guy."
Laboy was responding to a look out from the department for a yellow cab minivan on Wednesday. Soon after Laboy approached the cab, the Department of Emergency Communications began receiving emergency calls reporting an officer down.
“This really does bring to the forefront how dangerous and unpredictable unseen things can become,” Baker said. “It was a look out for this cab for some minor offense. He certainly was not expecting how it turned out. You get surprised and it can be devastating.”
Lawhorne said the men and women of the Alexandria Sheriff's Office continue to pray for Laboy and offer support to their Alexandria police colleagues.
Old Town Alexandria Patch Editor Sharon McLoone contributed to this report.
Read more on the Laboy incident:
jitterbug
2:04 pm on Thursday, February 28, 2013
My thought is that you are trying to turn this officer's tragic event into a soapbox for your own personal agenda. Find another place to wave your flag. This is about a good policeman, a friend and neighbor who was senselessly gunned down by an outlaw. It has nothing to do with cab service.
Gail G
9:05 pm on Thursday, February 28, 2013
It seems the cab service comment was removed, but it's a legitimate question to ask how the shooter got this cab. The cab service said he was not one of the assigned drivers to that cab. Was he one of their drivers at all? Someone at Fairfax Underground posted his record. He has a long list of traffic violations in Alx, FFX and Loudon going back almost 10 years. I can't imagine he had a valid driver's license. Maybe he got it from a family member, but it should be looked into.
Defy Libtards
9:07 pm on Thursday, February 28, 2013
Comments get removed when the editor feels they represent the ugly truth.
Drew Hansen
11:45 pm on Thursday, February 28, 2013
The user deleted their own comment.
Defy Libtards
10:21 am on Friday, March 1, 2013
You win this one Hansen!
Gail G
9:22 pm on Thursday, February 28, 2013
Here is his record. It will take more than one post because it's so long. There's an assault charge in there.
Fairfax County
"BASHIR ","KASHIF 019"," 4511","SQUIREDALE ","DR","ALEXANDRIA ","VA","10/20/2004","FAIL WEAR SAFETY BELT "
"BASHIR ","KASHIF 019"," 4511","SQUIREDALE ","DR","ALEXANDRIA ","VA","10/20/2004","SPEEDING AT SCHOOL CROSSINGS "
"BASHIR ","KASHIF 019"," 4511","SQUIREDALE ","DR","ALEXANDRIA ","VA","11/21/2004","IL OBEY HWY SIGN "
"BASHIR ","KASHIF 020"," 4511","SQUIREDALE ","DR","ALEXANDRIA ","VA","08/12/2005","TINTED WINDOWS "
"BASHIR ","KASHIF 020"," 4511","SQUIREDALE ","DR","ALEXANDRIA ","VA","09/29/2005","FAIL OBEY HWY SIGN "
"BASHIR ","KASHIF 020"," 4511","SQUIREDALE ","DR","ALEXANDRIA ","VA","12/06/2005","LIC PLATE IMPRO FASTND OR COVERED "
"BASHIR ","KASHIF 020"," 4511","SQUIREDALE ","DR","ALEXANDRIA ","VA","12/06/2005","TINTED WINDOWS "
"BASHIR ","KASHIF "021"," 4511","SQUIREDALE ","DR","ALEXANDRIA ","VA","02/08/2006","NO/STATE INSPECTION "
"BASHIR ","KASHIF ","021"," 4511","SQUIREDALE ","DR","ALEXANDRIA ","VA","02/08/2006","TINTED WINDOWS "
"BASHIR ","KASHIF ","021"," 4511","SQUIREDALE ","DR","ALEXANDRIA ","VA","06/26/2006","SIGNALS REQUIRED BACK/TURN/STOP "
"BASHIR ","KASHIF ","021"," 4511","SQUIREDALE ","DR","ALEXANDRIA ","VA","08/29/2006","65-69MPH/50MPH ZONE "
"BASHIR ","KASHIF "022"," 4511","SQUIREDALE ","DR","ALEXANDRIA ","VA","01/26/2007","ILLEGAL SALE OF UNAPPROVED EQUIPME "
Gail G
9:23 pm on Thursday, February 28, 2013
BASHIR ","KASHIF 022"," 4511","SQUIREDALE ","SQ","ALEXANDRIA ","VA","06/02/2007","FAIL WEAR SAFETY BELT
BASHIR, KASHIF 12/16/2004 12:00 AM 041/25 SP IN SCHOOL ZONE
BASHIR, KASHIF 12/16/2004 12:00 AM SAFETY BELT VIOLATION
BASHIR, KASHIF 1/10/2005 12:00 AM FAIL TO OBEY HIGHWAY SIGN
BASHIR, KASHIF 1/13/2005 12:00 AM FAIL TO YIELD RIGHT-OF-WAY
BASHIR, KASHIF 6/15/2005 12:00 AM SAFETY BELT VIOLATION
BASHIR, KASHIF 6/15/2005 12:00 AM IMPROPER EXHAUST SYSTEM
BASHIR, KASHIF 9/12/2005 12:00 AM TINTED OR SMOKED WINDSHIELD
BASHIR, KASHIF 10/7/2005 12:00 AM TINTED OR SMOKED WINDSHIELD
BASHIR, KASHIF 1/6/2006 12:00 AM TINTED OR SMOKED WINDSHIELD
BASHIR, KASHIF 4/20/2006 12:00 AM OPER UNINSPECTED VEHICLE
BASHIR, KASHIF 4/20/2006 12:00 AM TINTED OR SMOKED WINDSHIELD
BASHIR, KASHIF 4/27/2006 12:00 AM FAIL TO OBEY HIGHWAY SIGN
BASHIR, KASHIF 5/4/2006 12:00 AM TINTED OR SMOKED WINDSHIELD
BASHIR, KASHIF 5/4/2006 12:00 AM IMPROPERLY MOUNTED LIC PLATES
BASHIR, KASHIF 12/7/2006 12:00 AM DEFECTIVE EQUIPMENT GENERALLY
BASHIR, KASHIF 1/24/2007 9:30 AM 064/50 SPEEDING
BASHIR, KASHIF 3/19/2007 9:30 AM ILLEGAL SALE OF UNAPPROVED EQU
BASHIR, KASHIF 7/5/2007 9:30 AM FAIL WEAR SAFETY BELT
BASHIR, KASHIF 9/20/2010 9:30 AM FAIL PAY FULL TIME & ATTENTION
BASHIR, KASHIF 3/3/2011 9:30 AM 074/55 SPEEDING
BASHIR, KASHIF 10/19/2011 9:30 AM TAMPERING WITH VEHICLE
Gail G
9:23 pm on Thursday, February 28, 2013
BASHIR, KASHIF 10/19/2011 9:30 AM ASSAULT: (MISDEMEANOR)
BASHIR, KASHIF 2/16/2012 2:00 PM VIOL GOOD BEHAV ON MISD OFF
BASHIR, KASHIF 2/26/2013 9:30 AM FAIL TO OBEY TRAFFIC SIGNAL
Alexandria
BASHIR, KASHIF 11/16/2007 9:30 AM FAIL TO OBEY TRAFFIC SIGNAL
BASHIR, KASHIF 3/25/2009 9:30 AM 42/25 SPEEDING
BASHIR, KASHIF 6/27/2012 9:30 AM FAIL TO PAY ATTENTION
BASHIR, KASHIF 11/5/2012 9:30 AM FAIL TO OBEY HIGHWAY SIGN
Loudoun
BASHIR, KASHIF 01/11/2011 08:30 AM IMPROPER CONTROL/DRIVING
Gail G
9:24 pm on Thursday, February 28, 2013
A person needs to be driving A LOT to amass that collection of traffic violations. My guess would be...cab driver.
alex 68
9:39 am on Friday, March 1, 2013
It's absolutely unacceptable that this person should be allowed to have a taxi licence (let alone a drivers license). Something needs to be done about this system.
Defy Libtards
10:24 am on Friday, March 1, 2013
Alex: It's absolutely unacceptable that this person should be allowed to live among the general public, it was unacceptable prior to this incident, and is, obviously, unacceptable now.
Defy Libtards
10:30 am on Friday, March 1, 2013
Is anyone looking into Alexandria Yellow Cab? The owner was quoted as saying "he came up clean".....does the general public know how much money AYC ownership has donated to Alexandria politicians?
To quote Michael Lee Pope (Connection article, "Is Money Buying Influence...", 10/16/12):
"One of Euille's top contributors is Alexandria Yellow Cab, which is regulated by the city. Several years ago, the city approved a plan supported by Yellow Cab that created limitations preventing cab drivers from moving from Yellow Cab to other companies."
What's the over/under the Alexandria Yellow Cab walks away from this with no bad press, or no press at all? What are the odds they walk away w/o a scrape - obviously they have a role in this, but they'll never be touched by the City, it's Law Enforcement, Sherriff, Prosecutors, etc. Not with THIS Mayor and THIS City Council.
Gail G
11:01 am on Friday, March 1, 2013
These are all campaign donations from Yellow Cab from 2005-2012 according to the Virginia Public Access Project. It's pretty evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. They seem to be bipartisan.In any event, no decent candidate will ever take money from them in the future after this.
$2,500 Day for Delegate - William
$2,250 Hughes for Alexandria City Council - Alicia (Ind)
$1,750 Euille for Alexandria City Mayor - Bill
$1,000 Fannon for Alexandria City Council - Frank
$1,000 Cefaratti for Alexandria City Council - D Philip
$750 Pepper for Alexandria City Council - Del
$600 Chapman for Alexandria City Council - John
$500 Hughes for Alexandria City Council - Alicia (GOP)
$500 Smedberg for Alexandria City Council - Paul C
$250 Englin for Delegate - David
$250 Lovain for Alexandria City Council - Timothy B
Defy Libtards
11:20 am on Friday, March 1, 2013
I incorrectly implied this was a Dem fact, I meant to imply simply that it's a political fact.
alex 68
12:21 pm on Friday, March 1, 2013
How did Yellow Cab allow this guy to operate in their company. Something fishy is going on... I would advocate some sort boycott of Yellow Cab until they show, in a public forum, that all of their "independent contractor" drivers have clean (or substantial clean) records. It is inexcusable that a company operating in our well-to-do neighborhood would hire a person with such a checkered past. Its really tantamount to gross negligence. If the company is not forthcoming... and the city council merely sits on this matter... I would personally set a fund to hire lawyers to sue the company and get some answers through discovery. This company should pay and be made an example of.
Defy Libtards
12:43 pm on Friday, March 1, 2013
They won't pay Alex, I agree they should, but they wont. They'll claim ignorance and our "leadership" will give them a big hug, pat on the back and say "we know, we know sweetheart, you didn't have anything to do with it, it wasn't your fault."
AYC will make a big donation to the officers fund that's been set up, redo everyone's background checks and call it a day.
I wouldn't be surprised if our City Council gave them the Key to the City.
Perhaps Vice Lord Silberberg will release a statement chock full of quotes from her book and exclaim support from Jerry Garcia (who she's a personal friend of).
ustep
12:53 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
I so agree with this. I made a complaint against one of there drivers last year that had a passenger as he was acting eradicate, While transporting this lady to her job at the post office in Kingstown. I was able to make contact with the passenger and assured her that i would follow to ensure her safety.
McBrinn
12:46 pm on Friday, March 1, 2013
Umm, Jerry died in '95.
Defy Libtards
12:55 pm on Friday, March 1, 2013
Yes McBrinn, that was my point. (FacePalm)
alex 68
1:02 pm on Friday, March 1, 2013
I received a very thoughtful response from Vice Mayor Silberberg regarding the Yellow Cab issue. It seems that she is interested in possibly introducing legislation to require that taxi companies in Alexandria run background checks on their drivers. This would certainly help to make our community safer. Again, my thoughts are with Ofc. Laboy and his family. Perhaps some small shred of good might come out of this absolutely awful situation.
I have set up the following email address to correspond regarding the status of this possible legislation. I would like to build a email list of people with whom I can stay in touch regarding this matter. I would to have the continuing feedback from the people on this thread. Please let me know if you would like to get more involved. At a mimimum, please send me an email at the above address so I can keep you in the loop.
alex 68
1:03 pm on Friday, March 1, 2013
cleanupalexandriataxiindustry@gmail.com forgot the email address
alex 68
1:04 pm on Friday, March 1, 2013
Thank you very much for your thoughtful notes. One from yesterday and your note just now.
Like you, I feel stunned and saddened about the shooting of our Officer Laboy, a 17-year veteran and outstanding officer. He and his family and our entire law enforcement family are in our thoughts and prayers as Officer Laboy, a husband and a father of four, is fighting for his life as I type this.
I share your concern of course, and I would support having a requirement of a background check, etc. I am forwarding your note to staff.
First, I would like to know what standards, policies and procedures are already in place. Is there a standard background check for all cab drivers? Was there a background check not completed on the alleged shooter? There are many questions we are still looking at, as you know. The investigation will take a bit of time, as Chief Cook has stated.
I know that Yellow Cab's General Manager Kyle Summers released a statement soon after the incident, and I do not recall seeing a followup note.
All of us, residents and officials alike, want to see to it that our streets are safe. Given our very low crime rate, our streets are safe, but this shooting has raised some serious questions about policies and procedures in place.
I look forward to hearing from staff about current standards. I would be happy to hear from you again, and I or staff will be in touch about this.
Sincerely,
Allison Silberberg
Cc: Mark McHugh, Administrative Aide
Gail G
1:07 pm on Friday, March 1, 2013
Defy Libtards, I probably fall into the category of what you would call a "libtard" as I am a Dem, but I think we can agree that Yellow Cab has some explaining to do. I imagine the shooter fired and ran not because of he was creepy in a boutique, but because he knew all his traffic violations would get him arrested again. What I really want to know is how he got access to the cab if he wasn't one of the assigned drivers to that cab. Did he ever drive for Yellow Cab? Is he on their payroll? Does Yellow Cab ever use so called "bandit" drivers, i.e. off the books drivers?
Gail G
1:11 pm on Friday, March 1, 2013
Are you telling me that cabs in Alexandria DO NOT currently run background checks on their drivers?? That there is no legislation requiring them to do so?? *THAT* is outrageous.
alex 68
1:19 pm on Friday, March 1, 2013
Agreed
Defy Libtards
1:26 pm on Friday, March 1, 2013
They don't Gail. Welcome to the AYC / City Hall marriage.
alex 68
1:27 pm on Friday, March 1, 2013
Not sure how up-to-date this copy of Alexandria's Taxicab Regulations is, but it appears that drivers are not subject to background checks. See below in the "Driver Regulations" section.
3. DRIVER REGULATIONS
3.1 Dispatch Service Requirements
Pursuant to code section 9-12-57(n), all drivers shall serve an average of not less
than one dispatch call per day.
(Ord. 4402, 6/14/05)
3.2. Refusal to Provide Taxi Service
In the event any driver determines that he or she should not provide service to a
potential passenger based upon that potential passenger not being an "orderly
person" as set forth in City Code Section 9-12-57(l), that driver shall within one
hour of his refusal to provide service notify his dispatcher of the incident,
including, without limitation, the time and location of the refusal to provide service
and a general description of the potential passengers involved and the nature of
the conduct giving rise to the refusal of service.
(2/28/07)
See City of Alexandria Taxicab Regulations http://www.mwcog.org/uploads/committee-documents/aF5fWVhX20080318101654.pdf
See also
http://library.municode.com/index.aspx?clientId=10349
Defy Libtards
1:32 pm on Friday, March 1, 2013
Gail:
All Libtards are, by definition, Liberal/Democrat but not all Liberals/Democrats are Libtards. Libtards are typically sheep who reiterate the democrats' / Obama's agenda simply because they're told to do so. These people call people like me rude, entitled, and worst of all, closed minded yet they refuse to entertain anyone else's ideas/opinions/theories. These people are hypocrites and hate Conservatives because of some preconceived notion that we all kill babies and hate gays (which is SO far from the truth with me that I shudder). Libtards hate more than anyone I've ever met yet convince themselves that we're the ones guilty of hatred. I don't know you from a hole in the wall but this far you don't strike me as a Libtard.
alex 68
2:32 pm on Friday, March 1, 2013
"Defy Libtards" this does not need to be a partisan issue. We should all try and cooperate with the Council to seek if they will pass legislation regarding background checks on taxidrivers. Such a measure would likely be very popular across the partisan spectrum since this issue doesn't have to do with a polarizing issue like abortion. If we try and fail then there are other paths to sucess
alex 68
2:33 pm on Friday, March 1, 2013
I doubt that a few thousand dollars in donations would trump such a widely popular measure like requiring background checks... even for most cynical members
Defy Libtards
3:40 pm on Friday, March 1, 2013
alex 68: this wasn't even close to a partisan issue until you started to run for office on this thread. You've gone from conversation to campaign in about 2 steps. Now you're communicating with our Vice Lord Silberberg, setting up email addresses and petitioning for peoples email information. You've got a few years yet but, good luck on your run for Mayor.
alex 68
3:49 pm on Friday, March 1, 2013
I have zero political aspirations. What I want is to keep sketchy cab drivers out of my neighborhood and prevent such people from hurting my family.
Bobby Frazier
7:52 pm on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
My thoughts and prayers go out to officer laboy and family