Slain Bristol cops Dustin DeMonte, Alex Hamzy laid to rest in heart-wrenching funeral

The two Connecticut cops that were killed in an ambush attack during a phony 911 call were remembered as heroes who loved their jobs at a gut-wrenching funeral service on Friday.

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.

Hamzy’s heartbroken wife Katie gave brief, emotional remarks and read a poem about an officer.

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

She read the poem calling an officer “my hero, my protection, the love of my life and of course my armor.”

“I love you Alex,” she cried.

Hamzy’s family called the officer “our hero” and memorialized him as a man who was always willing to help. His father, Ahmad Hamzy, 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, said 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 and 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 in the remarks.

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.”

Revell addressed ongoing anti-police sentiment in his remarks, 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, a 2019 Officer of the Year Award winner and former school resource officer, is survived by a pregnant wife, Laura, and two daughters, Phoebe and Porter.

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