HARTFORD, Conn. _ Hartford police Officer Jill Kidik, recovering from stab wounds to the neck, opened her eyes Friday morning as she was surrounded by family and friends.
Not long after, the woman accused in Thursday's violent attack, Chevoughn Augustin, was ordered held on $2 million bail as dozens of officers waited outside the courtroom in a show of support.
Kidik, a 12-year department veteran, was in critical condition after the stabbing left her with wounds to her jugular vein and trachea. She underwent hours of surgery Thursday before police said she was taken to the intensive care unit.
"This morning, (surrounded) by family and friends she opened her eyes. She is alert and staying strong," said Deputy Chief Brian Foley.
More than 150 officers, many in uniform, had gathered outside Superior Court in Hartford before Augustin's arraignment to show support for their injured colleague. Police Chief David Rosado was seen entering the courthouse not long after 9 a.m. He was joined by about two dozen other officers inside the courtroom.
In a brief appearance before Judge Tammy T. Nguyen, Augustin stood quietly in blue coveralls as Hartford State's Attorney Gail Hardy argued for a high bond.
"This is a serious case. This is the third incident in approximately six weeks where Hartford police officers have been the target of violent assaults," Hardy said, noting this attack was the worst and nearly fatal. Hardy told the judge that based on the seriousness of Kidik's injuries and the strength of the state's case, bail should be set at $2.5 million.
Augustin's public defender, Victoria Pell, said the Augustin was a graduate of Trinity College, and had recently worked at Hartford Healthcare as an analyst. She left to start her own business, which was not making money, said Pell.
Pell said that Augustin volunteers in the community and has helped people with their taxes.
After the appearance, Rosado said the bond he believes the bond is fair.
"This is a serious matter, obviously. Due to the manner of the allegations, we cannot afford to have folks who think they can attack on of our officers on the street. There is a criminal process and there is due process for her, she will get that. But it is important for us to get this off the street," he said.
When Rosado left the building, he addressed the officers and thanked them for coming to show their support for Kidik and the department.
"Thank you for being here today," Rosado said to his officers. "We are one agency, one family."
Rosado said the show of support was for their injured colleague and a way for the department to cope with the difficult situation.
"This is about Jill Kidik today. This is not about the defendant," Rosado said. "This family gives you the strength and support to get through anything."
Augustin was taken into custody immediately after Thursday's stabbing and charged with attempted murder. Police officials said that two officers were first called to the apartment at 9:48 a.m.
"There were two officers dispatched (to the dispute) and there were other cars rolling that way. She just happened to be the first one on scene. Remember, it's a landlord-tenant dispute, no indications of any weapons so protocol was followed but we'll look into that," Rosado said. "There were multiple cars going, she just happened to be the first one there."
During the ensuing struggle, police said that Augustin knocked the officer to the ground before grabbing a large ceramic kitchen knife, putting her in a chokehold and stabbing her in the neck.
Maintenance workers nearby rushed to help the officer, pulling the suspect off and taking the knife away, police said. The officer was then speed away by fellow officers to Hartford Hospital.
Officials credit the swift action of these workers with saving the officers life. Deputy Chief Brian Foley called them "heroic."
John Inho, a judicial marshall and retired Hartford police officer, said he saw Kidik 20 minutes before the stabbing. She had come to the Layfette Street courthouse to drop off a prisoner.
"I said 'Kiddo remember, keep your head down and be safe,'" Inho recalled. "She said, 'You know me, I'm always careful.'"
The violent encounter came after a back-and-forth court battle between Augustin and the management of the downtown apartments.
Housing court records show Augustin had been evicted because of numerous complaints about "disturbing" behavior but was waging a legal fight to remain in her ninth-floor apartment.
Augustin was supposed to leave her apartment by April 24, but went to housing court in Hartford and filed a counter motion claiming she was being discriminated against because she is a Native American.
Augustin has lived in apartment 903 since December 2017, records show.
Attorneys for landlord SPC Master Tenant LLC alleged that Augustin "created numerous disturbances" for her neighbors that affected "their peaceful enjoyment of the premises" and rose to the level of an eviction.
Those disturbances included wandering the hallways "aimlessly very late at night," sleeping in the common room couch, confronting other residents in a "hostile" way and ordering food to be delivered and then not going down to pick it up, leaving the delivery person at the door or others in the building to deal with it.
The complaint also said she refused to meet with management to discuss her behavior and routinely accused staff of stealing her food.
This dispute was what led officers to the apartment Thursday. Kidik was the first to arrive.
Foley said Kidik is trained in crisis intervention, "for this exact kind of situation."
(Courant staff writers Jenna Carlesso, Josh Kovner, Dave Altimari and Sandra Aceves-Gomez contributed to this story.)
