Man shot two Connecticut police officers, likely following earlier traffic stop, authorities say

WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO

A Connecticut man fatally shot two police officers in a horrific 2022 ambush while he was in the throes of a downward spiral fueled by personal failures and drug and alcohol abuse, according to a report released by the state inspector general.

Nicholas Brutcher shot and killed Bristol Police Sergeant Dustin DeMonte and Officer Alex Hamzy in the driveway of his home after luring them there by calling 911.

He was angry about a traffic stop hours earlier and his mother’s subsequent scolding of him about the encounter with police.

A third police officer who fatally shot Brutcher at the scene was also hit by a hail of bullets.

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Nicholas Brutcher, left, executed Bristol Police Sergeant Dustin DeMonte and Officer Alex Hamzy, bottom right, in October 2022. (Facebook/Bristol Police Department)

Inspector General Robert Devlin’s report — required in deadly force cases — found that Brutcher was dealing with personal problems at the time of the incident, including his ex-wife getting pregnant by a former boyfriend.

“It must be emphasized that Brutcher is the murderer here,” the report said. “It would be wrong to blame the traffic stop officers or others who had a relationship with Nicholas Brutcher for the attack.”

Brutcher and his brother were arrested by police after a bar fight on October 12, 2022. The killer engaged in a verbal war with officers at the scene before being released.

Some time later, he called 911 to report that his brother was acting aggressively and needed help.

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Officer Alec Iurato, right, with Bristol Police Chief Brian Gould (Bristol Police Department)

As DeMonte, Hamzy and Officer Alec Iurato approached his door, Brutcher opened fire with an AR-15 while crouching in nearby bushes.

As his stunned parents, Joseph and Catrina Brutcher, watched, he stood over his victims and continued firing.

“How proud are you of me? How proud are you?” Brutcher asked as he pulled the trigger, according to the report. Hamzy was shot a total of 24 times.

“I don’t think I’ve ever screamed like that in my life,” Catrina Brutcher told investigators. “My son walked up to one of the officers who was on the ground and shot him in the head at point-blank range. I was yelling at him to stop.”

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Nicolas Brutcher poses with a dead deer. (Facebook)

Although Iurato was shot in the leg, he was able to take cover behind a car and take out Brutcher with a single shot.

Brutcher’s friends and relatives told investigators that he had suicidal thoughts in the months leading up to the killings.

The night of the incident, police arrested Brutcher and his brother after a bar fight. Police called their mother to come pick them up, and she reprimanded him on the spot.

“I was embarrassed and I told him so,” Catrina Brutcher said. “I said, ‘Nick, you’re a disgrace to your family, you’re a disgrace to our name.'”

Nicolas Brutcher posing with his brother. (Facebook)

An analysis of Brutcher’s phone suggested that a former partner thought she was pregnant and that he believed he too would soon become a father.

He had also repeatedly installed and uninstalled Grindr, a dating app aimed at the LGBTQ community, and appeared to want to “keep this aspect of his life a secret.”

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“Analysis of Nicholas Brutcher’s phone, interviews with family/friends, and a comprehensive review of all evidence collected provided insight into the stressors in Nicholas Brutcher’s life that likely contributed to the ambush attack on the officers,” the report said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.