The Office of the Inspector General released a report Wednesday detailing the October 2022 ambush killing of two Bristol police officers.
Officer Alec Iurato was also injured in the attack. Though wounded in the leg, Officer Iurato was able to take cover behind a police cruiser before killing the suspect with a single shot.
The report paints a dark picture of suspect Nicholas Brutcher calling 911 to lure officers to his house after a night of drinking and an earlier interaction with Bristol police that night.
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In the 911 call, Brutcher told a dispatcher that he was having an issue with his brother, Nathan Brutcher at the home on Redstone Hill Road. He said there was no violence involved, but that his brother was being aggressive.
When asked if there were any weapons involved, Brutcher told the dispatcher 'no.'
The call to police dispatchers came after the brothers had been pulled over by Bristol police earlier in the night. According to the report, Nicholas Brutcher was involved in a fight at Bleachers bar, but had left before police arrived.
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During the traffic stop, both brothers "were agitated and making rude remarks to the officers on scene," according to the report.
One of the officers at the traffic stop noted that Nicholas Brutcher made degrading remarks to the officers in an "obvious attempt to bait officers into an altercation."
Police issued tickets to both Nicholas and Nathan Brutcher and called their mother to pick them up at the scene.
During an interview with police after the incident, Brutcher's mother told investigators she scolded Nicholas for showing disrespect to the officers during the traffic stop and told him he was embarrassing his family.
After she brought both of her sons to 310 Redstone Hill Road, she went home to go to bed at her house, which was next door to Nicholas Brutcher's home.
Feeling uneasy about the events, she told investigators she went outside to smoke a cigarette and saw Nathan Brutcher there. She said Nathan told her Nicholas was putting on armor and fatigues and that he was calling police to have them come to the house.
She told investigators she didn't believe Nicholas would do that and returned to her home to go to bed. She told her husband what Nathan had said to her. She said her intuition told her something was not right, and went back outside, this time joined by her husband.
She said that's when she heard gunshots.
According to the report by the Inspector General, Lt. DeMonte, Sgt. Hamzy, and Officer Iurato were the first to arrive at 310 Redstone Hill Road around 10:40 p.m. after Brutcher's 911 call.
When they got to the home, Nathan Brutcher came to the door. As police asked Nathan to come out of the house, Nicholas Brutcher opened fire with an AR-15-style rifle from a a bush on his parents' property where he had hidden, according to the report.
The shots struck all three officers and Nathan Brutcher.
Officer Iurato was able to take cover before fatally shooting Nicholas Brutcher. The Inspector General determined Iurato was justified to use deadly force to end the danger and save the lives of other officers who were arriving at the scene.
In addition to the AR-15-style rifle, Brutcher was also armed with a handgun and several magazines. He fired 83 shots in total, according to the report.
Lt. DeMonte and Sgt. Hamzy both died of multiple gunshot wounds. Officer Iurato underwent surgery for his wound. He has since returned to active duty.
Nathan Brutcher told police he took Xanax that night and doesn't remember telling his mother about his brother putting on armor and calling police. He said he also doesn't remember coming to the door.
According to the report, the New Britain state's attorney ultimately decided there wasn't enough evidence to charge Nathan Brutcher in connection to the shooting.
