Copyright Hartford Courant
Two school gymnasiums in Bristol will be dedicated to two police officers who were gunned down in an ambush attack in 2022. The plans for the gyms to be dedicated to Lt. Dustin DeMonte and Sgt. Alex Hamzy were finalized and approved Wednesday evening during a regular Board of Education meeting, according to Bristol Mayor Jeff Caggiano. “It’s great to see that come to fruition before I take my leave of office,” said Caggiano, who lost a tightly contested race earlier in the week in his bid for a third term as mayor. “I was very proud to be a part of the finality of it,” said Caggiano, who was in his first term when both policemen were gunned down. IG releases report on 2022 fatal shooting of two Bristol police officers; reveals brutality of ambush Bristol police Chief Mark Morello said the police department was “thrilled” to learn of the board’s decision to name two gymnasiums after the slain officers. “This decision will help ensure that both men are honored and remembered, not only for their sacrifice to this city, but also for the positive impact they had while serving,” Morello said. “Alex and Dustin embodied what it means to be a Bristol police officer, and it is truly a fitting tribute,” Morello said. “Our department, along with the families of Alex and Dustin, very much appreciates it.” Caggiano said the idea to name the gymnasiums after the slain officers came about as the city builds a new Northeast Middle School. Hamzy’s father has been working with Caggiano for months on plans to have the new building’s gym named after his son, who attended Northeast before graduating from Bristol Eastern High School. “He’s a true local boy,” Caggiano said. Caggiano credited the Board of Education with the idea of also naming a gymnasium after DeMonte. “It’s a great, appropriate fit there, too, because Dustin was the community resource officer for Greene-Hills School,” Caggiano said. “He touched and affected a lot of lives there.” DeMonte’s three children will have the chance to visit Bristol and see the gymnasium named after their father and “see their dad’s legacy forever,” Caggiano said. DeMonte and Hamzy were shot and killed during an ambush attack after being lured to a home on Redstone Hill Road on Oct. 12, 2022. A third officer, Alec Iurato, was shot in the leg and was able to take cover behind a tree and a police cruiser before taking out the shooter, 35-year-old Nicholas Brutcher, out with a single gunshot. Bristol officer justified in fatally shooting man who fired over 80 rounds, killing Sgt. Dustin DeMonte and Officer Alex Hamzy: inspector general report The incident followed a previous encounter police had earlier in the night with Brutcher, who was scolded by his mother in front of multiple officers working an earlier shift, according to a report released by the state Inspector General. Iurato recovered from his injury and now works as a training officer with the department. “And now the two gymnasiums will live forever in our hearts like those two gentlemen do, and I think it will be a great beacon of hope for a lot of young kids coming through,” Caggiano said. “Hopefully it inspires some people to become public servants and police officers, which is a very difficult, difficult job to recruit for now.” The police department last month privately honored DeMonte and Hamzy on the third anniversary of the killings. Plans to memorialize both officers with a permanent monument were put on hold as city officials last year proposed the construction of a new police complex.
