Next Saturday will mark two years since Lieutenant Dustin Demonte and Sergeant Alex Hamzy were killed in the line of duty in Bristol. A relative of Sgt. Hamzy is honoring his memory through the sale of luminaries.
“Just to see those blue lights is incredible. I mean, driving through Bristol and the surrounding areas and just seeing it illuminated with blue, it fills in a little piece of a broken heart,” Gabby Hamzy said.
Sgt. Alex Hamzy is her second cousin. Her broken heart is still in the process of healing and Gabby Hamzy is remembering the big heart her cousin had.
“I ran into him at the fair and I just remember hearing him scream my name and obviously I ran up to him and he just gave me the biggest bear hug ever,” she said.
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The blue lights she saw in the past two years inspired her to sell luminaries with a bluish glow to honor Sgt. Hamzy’s memory.
“There’s a blue battery-operated light and I’m asking people just to set it out on their doorsteps or wherever they’re comfortable with,” Gabby Hamzy said.
She says the support was overwhelming with more than 1,000 sold last year, raising about $7,000 for the Sgt. Hamzy memorial fund.
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The money last year was donated to help build a Bristol police monument for fallen officers. This year, it will go to police cadets in Bristol and beyond.
“Most people just feel so helpless and they don’t know what to do, so this is a great opportunity for them to feel like they’re helping in some small way,” Hamzy said.
She is confident that Sgt. Hamzy’s memory won’t be forgotten.
“It still shocks me if I’m being completely honest,” she said.
The luminaries will be on sale at The Hamzy Law Firm in Bristol this weekend, on Oct. 5 and 6 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
