March 30, 2005: Accused fragger scuffles with MP escort
By Jane McHugh: Times staff writer
Army death penalty defendant Sgt. Hasan Akbar got into a scuffle this morning with a military police officer escorting him into court.
A spokeswoman for the XVIII Airborne Corps, Jackie Thomas, declined to answer questions about the incident. According to news release from Fort Bragg, N.C., Akbar was in the Staff Judge Advocate building on post with two MPs when “an incident” occurred around 7 a.m. while Akbar was on his way to a pretrial hearing.
“During the incident, Akbar attempted to overpower one of his MP guards,” the release said. “The MPs quickly regained control of Akbar.” Akbar and one of the MPs “received medical attention” afterward, according to the release.
The pretrial hearing was postponed until April 1, the release said.
Akbar, who, according to the Associated Press, plans to use an insanity or diminished capacity defense, faces capital murder charges accusing him of killing two officers, one Army and one Air Force, in a grenade and machinegun attack in Kuwait during the opening days of the Iraq war.
The attack happened at Camp Pennsylvania. Akbar, the Army has charged, threw three grenades and opened fire with an M-4. Fourteen other soldiers were wounded .
Akbar was a combat engineer with the 101st Airborne Division’s 326th Engineer Battalion at the time of the incident.
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Topic: MPs Struggle with Traitor/Killer (Read 660 times)