A Wiscasset police officer was stuck with a used, heroin-contaminated needle earlier this week while searching a suspect during a traffic stop.
The officer stopped Jene Sherman, 50, of Dresden, for allegedly speeding on Federal Street near Wiscasset Elementary School and allegedly found drug paraphernalia “all over her car,” Wiscasset Police Chief Jeff Lange said Tuesday, Sept. 12.
“She swore she didn’t have any more needles on her, but there was a used needle she had forgotten,” he said, and the officer was stuck. “She admitted she had used it. It had a little bit of blood and heroin in it.”
The officer and Sherman were immediately taken to a local hospital and given rapid HIV tests as allowed by law. The officer tested negative, Lange said, but now awaits results of a hepatitis test.
Sherman was charged with assault on a police officer and a civil infraction for speeding, Lange said. She also had a warrant for failure to appear.
He encouraged residents to be aware of increased drug use in the area and to call police if they see any paraphernalia.
“We’re starting to see a lot more drug use here,” Lange said. “We want people to be aware of it. Little kids will find it, and that’s what we want to avoid.”
