Bodycam video shows police officer fatally shooting man accused of killing his partners in ambush
Attorney general says two deceased officers ‘died as heroes’
The Connecticut Inspector General has released body-camera footage of a police officer fatally shooting a man accused of killing two other officers in an ambush.
Three officers responded to a domestic violence dispute on Redstone Hill Road in Bristol at about 10.42pm on 12 October after a 911 call by Nicholas Brutcher, the inspector general said.
Brutcher allegedly opened fire on three officers after his brother Nathan Brutcher was asked to exit the home with his hands up.
Shots were fired, killing Sergeant Dustin DeMonte and Officer Alex Hamzy, the inspector general’s office said on Saturday.
The third officer, Alec Iurato, was seriously wounded by a gunshot to the leg. His bodycam footage was made public on Saturday as part of the ongoing investigation.
The video showed Mr Iurato making his way back to a police car parked outside the property, from where he fired a single shot that killed Brutcher.
“Shots fired, shots fired,” Mr Iurato could be heard telling the dispatcher in the footage. “More cars. Send everyone.”
The inspector general’s office said Brutcher had fired “well over eighty rounds attacking the officers from behind fatally shooting both Sergeant DeMonte and Officer Hamzy, and wounding Officer Iurato,” and that the footage showed Mr Iurato’s response was justified.
Footage of the earlier and latter portions of Mr Iurato’s body camera footage, as well as that of the two deceased officers, were not released on Saturday because of the sensitive nature of the contents, the inspector general’s office added.
Mr Iurato was released from hospital on Thursday last week, with Connecticut Attorney General William Tong issuing a statement on the same day describing the officers involved in the incident were “heroes responding bravely to the most dangerous and volatile of emergency calls.”
“Today is a tragic day for our state, for the Bristol community, and for the families of Sgt. Demonte and Officer Hamzy who died as heroes,” said Mr Tong, “We must do all we can to support Officer Iurato and his family as he faces serious injuries”.
An investigation is ongoing with the Office of Inspector General, Connecticut State Police Central, and the Bristol Police Department among multiple agencies involved in the probe.