Sgt. Dustin Demonte
Officer: Bristol Police Department, Sergeant Dustin Demonte
Date: 10/12/2022 Location: Bristol, CT FACTORS (1,2,3,7,15,18,19)
Perpetrator(s) Involved: Nicholas Brutcher
Criminal Activity History/Involved: No, Brutcher did not have a criminal record. / Yes. Brutcher called 911 in order to lure the police to the house where he ambushed them.
Mental Illness: None stated.
Substance Abuse History/Involved: Yes, a neighbor described Brutcher as “always drinking.” / Yes, Brutcher was reportedly kicked out of a bar and issued a summons for disorderly conduct shortly before the shooting.
Race/Sex/Age: White/Male/35
What prompted the initial contact with the killer? At around 10:30 p.m. on October 12, 2022, Bristol Police Sgt. Dustin Demonte and Police Officers Alex Hamzy and Alec Iurato responded to a 911 call of a violent domestic incident between brothers Nicholas and Nathan Brutcher at their house.
Actions taken by subject toward police: Upon arrival the officers encountered Nathan at the side door where he complied with their orders to exit the house and show his hands. As the officers were focused on Nathan, Nicholas ambushed them from behind, shooting at them over 80 times with his AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. Sgt. Demonte and PO Hamzy were mortally wounded, and PO Iurato was shot in the leg.
Reactions by the police: Though injured, PO Iurato escaped back to a patrol vehicle from where he managed to deliver one fatal shot to Brutcher.
How murdered? Sgt. Demonte was ambushed and murdered by a man with a semi-automatic rifle who lured the police to the house by calling 911.
What could have been done differently for the officer to still be alive? The officers would have needed to keep one officer to the side with his back to the other officers at the door in order to defend against such an ambush.
Would the officer have been justified to use deadly force before being murdered? No, the officers were ambushed and did not have a chance to use deadly force until two of them were already fatally struck.
Outcome for the cop-killer: Brutcher was justifiably shot and killed by PO Iurato.
Miscellaneous: Unbeknownst to the responding officers, Nicholas shot his brother Nathan and then called 911 as a “deliberate act to lure law enforcement to the scene.”
