BRISTOL, Conn — It’s been one week since Lt. Dustin DeMonte and Sgt. Alex Hamzy, both posthumously promoted, were killed in the line of duty while responding to a call on Redstone Hill Road.
Officer Alec Iurato was shot in the leg before killing the suspect, Nicholas Brutcher. Marilyn Lane lives a few houses down from where it all happened. She said she didn’t know what was going on on her street but knew it was something.
“We were here and we were watching TV and then we heard this noise,” she said. “We shut off all the lights, and then all the cop cars started coming.”
It alarmed neighbors across Redstone Hill Road including Ramon Torres who lives in the apartment complex across the street.
“I had all my windows open and all of a sudden I hear rapid-fire gunshots so immediately I knew that was not normal,” he said.
After those initial gunshots, he heard a woman hysterically screaming, which can be heard in body camera footage released by the Office of Inspector General Sunday. There was then silence, besides the screaming, and more gunshots erupted. Patrol cars followed.
“Neighbors were outside and they were told to go back inside the house, don’t come outside, etc. because there was cops hiding behind cars,” Torres said.
It took until the following morning for more information to become public. Once the neighbors heard about what had happened, they were shocked.
“I dread the whole thing. Sometimes I think about especially the two officers that died. It’s tragic,” Lane said. “I never thought this would happen in this neighborhood, but it has.”
Lane said she was too afraid to go outside and barely slept that night. She woke up Thursday morning to a number of texts asking if she was okay. She said there is fear of living by the home, now riddled with bullet holes.
Leftover police tape and a small memorial remain on the street. Lane put up a blue strand of lights to show her support for the police after the incident. It’s something many other Bristol residents and neighbors in Connecticut have been doing to show support for Sgt. Hamzy and Lt. DeMonte, whose wife is pregnant.
“They’re here to protect us, we didn’t protect them,” she said. “I can’t comprehend how the woman that’s going to have a baby now, her husband’s gone.”
The two neighbors had seen the Brutcher brothers before but had never interacted with them. Nicholas’ brother Nathan was also injured, but it’s unclear by who. Police believe the attack was an ambush on the officers.
“I feel bad that everything happened to the way it did and why somebody would actually do that,” Torres said. “The police are actually trying to do something good for the community, and they do it all the time, every time and to actually be set up to go somewhere to have that happen is just terrible.”
Torres said neighbors are traumatized. He said sadness is evident on their faces. Cars slowly drive by the home, drivers’ heads turned at it. People walk by and stare at the house. Lane said it’s difficult to go near the home because of what happened.
Signs of support have filled the community and the state following the incident. Torres said it’s good to see people honoring the men and women in blue.
“It shows that the people actually care about law enforcement and people actually doing what they need to do to keep the community safe,” he said.
A joint funeral service will be held for the two fallen officers in East Hartford Friday. A wake was held Wednesday morning for Sgt. Hamzy and a private service will be held for Lt. DeMonte.
Tony Black is a multi-media journalist at FOX61 News. He can be reached at tblack@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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