A traffic stop for a speeding ticket escalated quickly in Wiscasset, Maine, this weekend, and ended with assault charges and an officer in the hospital.
Police Chief Jeffrey Lange says he pulled over 50-year-old Jene Sherman of Dresden Sunday, and when he looked inside her car, she had drug paraphernalia out in the open.
He called an officer for back-up, who conducted a search of her purse.
"We asked her repeatedly if she had anything that would poke us, hurt us, or stick us," said Chief Lange. "She said absolutely not."
The Chief is not naming the other officer on scene, but says when he reached inside Sherman’s purse, he got stuck with a needle.
"[Sherman] admitted later that the needle had heroin in it, and … old blood," said Lange.
The officer was taken to a nearby hospital and tested for infections. His HIV test has come back negative, but police are still waiting for results of a hepatitis test.
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Sherman has been charged with assault on a police officer, for recklessly lying about the four needles in her purse, according to court documents. She has also been charged with use of drug paraphernalia, and issued a speeding ticket.
She is free on $1,000 bail and due back in court in November.
Lange said this traffic stop could have ended differently, if she told them about the needles.
"Man up, and tell the officer that has to deal with you so they’re not at risk," he said.
