ACCOMAC, Va. -- The medication made him do it.
That's ultimately what all parties agreed to in a court document signed Monday withdrawing charges against rookie Virginia Beach police Officer Bradley Colas.
Colas, 24, was accused of attempted murder, malicious wounding of law-enforcement or rescue workers and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony after he attacked two firefighters who tried to help him after a March 4 car crash on the Eastern Shore.
The officer and his attorney, Moody E. "Sonny" Stallings Jr., repeatedly insisted Colas' actions were out of character and a bad reaction to Biaxin, an antibiotic Colas had been prescribed to treat a respiratory infection.
At two bond hearings, those claims were met with skepticism by Accomack County Commonwealth's Attorney Gary Agar. Twice Colas was denied bail and sent back to the Accomack County Jail, where he spent almost three months in isolation.
An order withdrawing the charges indicated that a series of consistent doctor evaluations led to the decision.
"In consideration of all the evidence available, the single conclusion is that the acts complained of in the indictment were the result of the defendant's involuntary intoxication," according to the document.
Colas testified the medication caused him to hallucinate, become paranoid and see demons. He had taken several doses before he got into his car and began driving north to Philadelphia -- where he believed he had to fight evil -- the morning of March 4.
He closed his eyes several times as he drove up Lankford Highway on the Eastern Shore.
"I thought God wanted to test my faith," Colas explained Monday after he was released from jail.
The officer crashed his car, and when firefighters showed up to help, Colas lashed out at them. The rescuers were wearing helmets with the number 4 on them, a symbol, Colas said, he had come to associate with evil while under the influence of Biaxin.
"I thought they were evil," he said.
Colas lunged for a firefighter's radio; they went for his off-duty gun. The officer pulled out his knife and stabbed at two firefighters, giving them minor injuries. He then recovered the gun one of the firefighters had tossed. A clip holding 17 bullets had been released, but Colas said he was able to get off one shot at the men. He missed.
When the prosecutor asked Colas during a previous hearing if he had wanted to kill the firefighters, the officer paused, and then told the truth: Yes.
"As soon as he asked, I knew what the implications were," Colas said Monday.
Virginia State Police soon added attempted murder to Colas' charges.
Colas remains employed by the Virginia Beach Police Department but has been on unpaid leave since his arrest. No additional information about his employment status was immediately available.
Colas and his attorneys said they believe Biaxin is a dangerous drug.
"It's almost laughable that an antibiotic could cause a psychotic breakdown," said Randy Singer, one of his lawyers. "We think it requires more warnings than are out there now."
Copyright 2012 - The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
