The bizarre scene unfolded in Stamford, when Travis suddenly attacked and tore up the face of 55-year-old Charla Nash, who was visiting his owner Sandra Herold Monday night.

"He bit both of her hands off and the cop told me he just kept eating her. It's terrible," Lynne Mecca, a friend of the victim, told CBS News.

The 15-year-old chimp once starred in TV commercials for Old Navy and Coca-Cola.

"She retrieved a large butcher knife and stabbed her longtime pet numerous times in an effort to save her friend, who was really being brutally attacked," Conklin said.

But the chimpanzee returned and went after several of the officers, who retreated into their cars, Conklin said. Travis knocked the mirror off a cruiser before opening its door and starting to get in, trapping the officer.