RUTLAND, Vt. -
A Rutland City police officer is recovering after police say a woman sliced his neck and tried to kill him.
And they say it all went down at the police station.
With Rutland City police officers watching, 39-year-old Jennifer Berube stood in a Rutland, Vermont courtroom Friday to face a charge of second degree attempted murder.
She pleaded not guilty.
On Thursday, police say they had picked up Berube and her husband John Maclean, who are both homeless, for possible fraud.
Back at the station, police say Berube had been left in an unlocked interview room.
"During that process (she) somehow obtained a knife, approached Officer Damon Nguyen from the rear and attempted to slice his throat," says Chief James Baker, Rutland City Police Department.
Baker says Berube managed to cut the officer's neck. Baker says officers were able to get the knife away from Berube and restrain her.
"It was a very serious situation and it could have been to the point where he could have been killed," says Baker.
The chief says Officer Nguyen was treated at the hospital and later released.
Now police are looking into how Berube was able to get the pocket knife.
"That's a fair question. We've directed an internal administrative review of that question," says Baker.
Baker says people taken into custody are normally searched. In court documents, police say Berube told them she found the knife on the floor of the interview room.
In court, the judge ordered Berube to be held in jail for now without bail.
Police say Officer Nguyen and another officer who was also involved have both been given some time off.
