"He is my hero": Funerals held for 2 Connecticut officers killed in apparent ambush
Thousands of police officers from across the U.S. gathered Friday at the Pratt and Whitney Stadium in Connecticut for the joint funeral of two Bristol officers killed in an apparent ambush last week. Lt. Dustin Demonte and Sg. Alex Hamzy were both promoted posthumously.
"Our family was as close to perfect as it could be because we had you," Demonte's wife, Laura Demonte, said.
"While you may know my officer as a number, know he is far more than that," Katie Scott Hamzy, Hamzy's wife, said. "He is my hero, my protection, the love of my life and of course my heart. I love you Alex."
Alongside the family members were Bristol police officers carrying the fallen.
"Words cannot express the grief we are experiencing. The anger, confusion, frustration, fear, uncertainty and overall sadness," said Bristol Police Chief Brian Gould.
Both officers were fatally shot last Wednesday night after allegedly being lured by a fake 911 call reporting a domestic dispute, which officials suspect was a trap. Officer Alec Iurato was injured and fired one shot, killing the gunman.
Hamzy, 34, was with the department for eight years and Demonte, 35, was a 10-year veteran. He was a father of two with a third child on the way.
In observance of the funeral, much of Bristol was closed.
Nationwide, 53 law enforcement officers have been killed by gunfire so far this year, compared to 50 at this time last year.