BOSTON —

A mental health evaluation has been ordered for a man who is facing several violent charges after he allegedly attacked a Dorchester family and, in a separate incident, was accused of assaulting a police officer.

Nelson Foster, 40, appeared in Suffolk Superior Court on Tuesday for what had been scheduled as a hearing for the prosecutor to argue that he was too dangerous to be held without bail.

Instead, a forensic psychologist interviewed Foster while he was in custody at the courthouse and then told the judge that she believed Foster's violent record and mental state show that he should be sent to Bridgewater State Hospital to see if he is competent to stand trial.

"I do think that further evaluation of his mental status and as it bears on his competency is warranted in my cl

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