Dozens of flowers are placed on and around a Bristol police car in honor of fallen officers Dustin DeMonte and Alex Hamzy.
“He opened up to everybody, you could go up to him and talk to him, he was a really nice kid,” Jim Ferro said.
Ferro said he knew Officer Alex Hamzy from a young age. Ferro would stop by the luncheonette Hamzy’s family previously owned on Main Street.
“It's hard to explain, it’s like you knew him your whole life. That's what it was like, you walked in the restaurant, and it was like being in a home,” Ferro said.
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Ferro said Hamzy always talked about one day joining the police department.
“He was insistent on it, and he did it, and I love, and I miss him,” Ferro said.
Authorities said Hamzy died after being shot while responding to a call for help on Wednesday. He was hired in 2014 and assigned to the patrol division.
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During his 8 years on the force, police say he received several commendations and was a cadet advisor.
The Bristol native graduated from Bristol Eastern High School in 2006. Former classmates described him as a kind-spirited person.
Hamzy leaves behind his parents, siblings and a wife.
“I got to love these people, and I always will,” Ferro said.
