Slain Bristol cops Dustin DeMonte, Alex Hamzy laid to rest

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The two Connecticut cops that were killed in an ambush attack during a phony 911 call were laid to rest at a gut-wrenching funeral service on Friday – as the pregnant widow of one of the officers called the pair “two of the very best humans.”

Thousands packed the joint memorial for Sgt. Dustin DeMonte and Officer Alex Hamzy at the Pratt and Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, where they were posthumously promoted to lieutenant and sergeant, respectively.

“Dustin, my love, babe, pain in the butt, the kids and I are honored to call you ours,” DeMonte’s wife Laura, who’s pregnant with the couple’s third child, said in a tearful eulogy.

“You loved so hard and we felt that love every single day. I know you felt that love in return,” she went on.

“I remember thinking while we were at the beach, the park, the store, on a walk, playing outside in our yard or just sitting on the couch, really anywhere – this is the best life can ever get, that my heart is just so happy and there couldn’t have been truer words.”

Their family was close to perfect “because we had you — you made everything better,” she said through tears.

“Thank you for these beautiful children, wonderful memories that we will cherish forever, an amazing life and the deepest, most purest, special love that I have ever felt,” she said.

She promised that she and their children, Phoebe and Porter, would continue “dancing with you, for you forever” and called the 2019 Officer of the Year Award winner and former student resource officer “our hero and angel.”

DeMonte and Hamzy were “true heroes, amazing people” who will be missed by everyone, Laura said.

“I am sorry this happened to you — two of the very best humans, so kind, positive and fun-loving,” she said.

Hamzy’s heartbroken wife Katie also gave brief, emotional remarks and read a poem that called the slain officer “my hero, my protection, the love of my life and of course my armor.”

The officers’ caskets lay side-by-side in the sun-drenched field, draped in American flags.

“There are not enough words for me to describe my love for Alex,” she said through sobs.

Hamzy’s father, Ahmad, delivered a prepared speech but was overcome with emotion and had his brother complete the remarks on his behalf.

The grieving dad, who emigrated from Lebanon with his wife Selma, said in the remarks that he and his wife Selma emigrated from Lebanon and strove for a better life in the US, instilling a love for the country in their son.

“Our names are Ahmad and Selma but if we’re known for the rest of our lives as Alex Hamzy’s parents it would be the highest honor which we could ever achieve,” Ahmad said.

Hamzy’s father-in-law Jeffrey Scott gave a heated rebuke to anti-cop activism, at times getting so mad that he had to pause to collect himself. 

“Alex was not out there showing hate, power or prejudice, just his love for those he chose to protect. I will never allow haters to portray him in any other way,” he said. “We must shine the light on the charlatans who promote hate under the guise of victimhood, and also condemn those who provide the platform for this evil.”

Scott then railed against divisiveness in the country, shouting, “it has to stop.”

“There’s no need for blue to hate red, or red to hate blue, or whites to hate blacks, or blacks to hate whites,” he said. “We are one, one, one country and we damn better bring it back — I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m getting a little upset.”

“We have to stop believing this notion that our hatred of the other side is a good hatred,” he said. “Think about that, a good hatred. Have we gone insane? Have we lost our minds? If we don’t stop, we are going to lose our country. I lost my son-in-law. I don’t want to lose my country, too.” 

The Rev. John Revell, chaplain for the Connecticut State Police, called the men “two absolutely incredible human beings.

“They were consummate human beings and law enforcement officers,” Revell said. “They did not deserve what they received and they deserve far more than what we can give today.”

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Revell also addressed ongoing anti-police sentiment in the Christian ceremony, saying he doesn’t “understand it.”

“It is such a contradiction, it is profoundly astounding and confounding, that there are segments of our population that hold law enforcement officers in disdain and with contempt when it is these very officers who are willing to sacrifice their lives to deliver them from those who would inflict evil upon them,” Revell said.

The two Bristol cops were gunned down Oct. 12 while they responded to a fake domestic disturbance call placed by Nicholas Brutcher — who was waiting for them outside with an AR-15-style assault rifle, cops said.

Alec Iurato, 26 — a third officer wounded in the attack — then fatally shot Brutcher, 35, a gun-obsessed dad and divorcee known to neighbors as a big beer drinker and a “rowdy one.” His brother Nathaniel was also shot in the legs during the exchange of gunfire but has returned home after treatment in the hospital.

Iurato attended the funeral for his fallen colleagues, appearing in crutches, although he walked on his own strength as he carried in a flag at the start of the funeral, Bristol Police Chief Brian Gould said.

“Being the true hero that he is, Officer Iurato maintained courage and composure, and delivered a surgical strike which immediately stopped the active killing,” said Gould.

“Officer Iurato’s brave actions undoubtedly prevented further deaths from occurring, saving arriving Bistol police officers and the community from immediate death. We are so proud that he is here with us today.”

Brutcher had been kicked out of local bar Bleacher’s and interacted with cops earlier in the night, before he returned to his house and got into an altercation with his brother, police said. He placed a domestic call to 911, then fired off more than 80 rounds when cops arrived and spoke with Nathaniel outside the home, according to law enforcement.

The father of two had flaunted his interest in guns and in 2016 posted a photo to Facebook of a wedding where he brandished a handgun. Brutcher and Hamzy were Facebook friends, but it’s not clear whether they knew each other.

A motive for the shooting hasn’t been disclosed.

DeMonte, 35, is survived by his wife and kids, Phoebe and Porter.

Hamzy, 34, is survived by wife Katie, his parents and two sisters.

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