June 05--VIRGINIA BEACH -- Prosecutors have dropped attempted murder charges against a Virginia Beach police officer after determining that his actions during an incident on the Eastern Shore in March were caused by a bad reaction to medication.
Bradley Colas, 24, had been charged with attempted murder, malicious wounding of law-enforcement or rescue workers, and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. The charges stemmed from an incident in which he allegedly attacked firefighters who attempted to help him after he crashed his car in Accomack County on March 4.
Colas was released from the Accomack County Jail, where he has been held since the incident. His attorneys had argued that his actions were caused by hallucinations brought on by the use of an antibiotic he was taking to combat an infection, and prosecutors accepted the evaluations of doctors who supported that claim.
Colas has remained on the Virginia Beach Police Department but has been on unpaid leave since his arrest.
Copyright 2012 - Daily Press, Newport News, Va.
