Families of Conn. Police Officers Slain in Ambush Still Struggling with Grief 1 Year Later

BRISTOL, CT—Grief remains raw for families of two local police officers who were shot dead during an ambush a year ago while responding to a late-night call.

"It's definitely not any easier," Phil DeMonte, brother of Lt. Dustin DeMonte, said in an interview with Hearst Connecticut Media Group. "Everyone says it gets easier over time, but time's definitely not going to heal this wound."

DeMonte, 35, and Sgt. Alex Hamzy, 34, were killed after arriving at a Redstone Hill Road home for a reported domestic dispute around 10:30 p.m. on Oct. 12, 2022. Police said they believe the call was a hoax by Nicholas Brutcher to lure the officers to the home where he opened fire on them.

Brutcher ambushed the officers from behind as they spoke to his brother, Nathan Brutcher, state Inspector General Robert Devlin wrote in an initial report.

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Brutcher fired "well over 80 rounds," killing DeMonte and Hamzy and wounding Officer Alec Iurato, who managed to take cover behind a police cruiser as the shooting continued. When the gunfire paused, Iurato fired one shot, killing Nicholas Brutcher.

"I don't think grief gets easier; you just learn how to work around it," Hamzy's sister Donna Hamzy Carroccia said. "We're going to forever grieve."

Bristol will hold a candlelight vigil in front of the police department at 7 p.m. Thursday, the one-year anniversary of the deadly shootings.

Aside from Devlin's preliminary report, authorities have released few details about the shooting and an encounter between local police and the Brutchers earlier that night at a local bar. Hearst Connecticut Media has submitted requests under Connecticut's Freedom of Information Act for documents and recordings related to the shooting, including the events that may have led up to the incident. State police have said they will not release more information until the investigation into the shooting is complete.

At the funeral attended by thousands at Rentschler Field, a priest at Hamzy's church said the slain officer recognized the names of the Redstone Hill Road residents when the 9-1-1 call came in. Hamzy played football at Bristol Eastern High School and was about the same age as Nicholas Brutcher, a former football player at crosstown rival Bristol Central High School.

In an interview with Hearst Connecticut Media, Carroccia and Hamzy's other sister, Rania Hamzy Aiudi, confirmed their brother knew Brutcher, although said they were not friends. Both women said their brother would have responded to the call in hopes of calming the dispute.

"That's who my brother was," Aiudi said. "He always wanted to help people, For him, going into that call, he was there to help. That's it. He wasn't there to do anything else."

Alex Hamzy was likely thinking, "'OK, I can talk to this guy. He'll recognize me,'" Carroccia said. "I'm sure that was his hope."

Of the family's continuing grief, Aiudi said, "Honestly, it's still just extremely difficult to wrap our head around what's happened."

Alex Hamzy, the youngest of the three siblings, was "one of a kind," she said.

"He was somebody who anybody could talk to," she said. "He could get along with anyone, no matter your status. He could come onto your level and he was just an amazing human."

Carroccia said it's especially difficult to think that her son, now 4, will grow up without the uncle he loved so much.

Katie Scott Hamzy, Alex Hamzy's widow, said the family is planning a private gathering to observe the anniversary of the shooting.

Phil DeMonte said he still calls his younger brother's phone just to hear his voice on the message recording. Growing up in Middletown, the two boys were close, riding their Big Wheels together, playing tag and hide-and-seek and all those other neighborhood kids' games.

Dustin DeMonte graduated in 2005 from Middletown High School where he was a catcher for the baseball team. He loved baseball, his brother said, and was an avid New York Yankees fan.

When he was fatally shot, DeMonte had two children, ages 3 and 2, and a third on the way. His brother's widow "is still struggling," Phil DeMonte said.

To mark the anniversary of the shootings, he said the family may go to Meriden to the Connecticut Law Enforcement Memorial, which honors officers who died in the line of duty.

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