BRISTOL, Conn. — The two Bristol police officers who were killed last week in the line of duty will be remembered during a joint service at Rentschler Field at Pratt and Whitney Stadium in East Hartford on Friday.
Thousands of law enforcement officers from across the region and country are expected to join the families and Lt. Dustin Demonte and Sgt. Alex Hamzy at the service.
East Hartford police, who are coordinating the logistics of the service at the stadium, told FOX61 News earlier this week that they are expecting traffic from 7:30 a.m. in the morning until mid-afternoon. They anticipate backups on Silver Land from Main Street over to the Manchester border. Surrounding streets like Simmons Road and Roberts will also like have slowdowns.
They ask drivers to avoid the area if they are not attending the funeral services.
Traffic impacts
State Police announced Friday the road closures that will take place for Friday's funeral processions. The processions for each officer will begin at 8:35 a.m. with an expected arrival time at Rentschler Field of 10 a.m. Drivers should expect delays on these routes:
Route 1 – The procession for Lt. DeMonte will begin at the North Haven Funeral Home on Washington Avenue and proceed to Interstate 91. The vehicles will then exit onto I-691 West, then to I-84 East, exiting at the stadium grounds via Exit 58.
Following the services, the procession will travel from Rentschler Field back to the North Haven Funeral Home. The route will be Route 15 South (From Silver Lane), to I-91 South to Exit 12.
Route 2 – The procession for Sgt. Hamzy will begin at the Scott Funeral Home following Route 6 to Colt Highway. The motorcade will proceed to I-84 East and exit at the stadium grounds via Exit 58.
Following the service, the procession will travel the reverse route back to the Scott Funeral Home: I-84 West, to Exit 38, then Route 6 to the Scott Funeral Home.
Rentschler Field is located at 615 Silver Lane, East Hartford.
Parking
State police said people who plan to attend the service should park in the gray or red lots highlighted in the map below.
Bags, purses, flowers, cameras, and gifts are prohibited at the stadium during the funeral services.
Members of the public attending the funeral can arrive from 6 a.m. onward, state police said.
How to watch
FOX61 News will cover the full services starting at 11 a.m. on FOX61, FOX61.com, FOX61+ and FOX61's YouTube and Facebook pages.
You can also watch a live stream here.
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Hamzy and DeMonte were killed while responding to a call at a home on Redstone Hill Road around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday. Officer Alec Iurato was injured in the shooting.
State police said in a release that the 911 call about a dispute between two siblings appears to have been a "deliberate act to lure law enforcement" to the home.
When DeMonte, Hamzy, and Iurato arrived at the scene, they were confronted by one of the suspects, later identified as 35-year-old Nicholas Brutcher, who was outside of the home. Nicholas immediately began firing, striking all three of the officers, police said.
Police said that Iurato returned fire after being struck, which killed Brutcher.
Doug Stewart is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dstewart@fox61.com.
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