Police officers across the state are preparing to lay two of their own to rest. The funeral service for Lt. Dustin DeMonte and Sgt. Alex Hamzy are Friday at Rentschler Field.
Before they distinguished themselves through lives of serving and protecting, DeMonte and Hamzy started out at the Connecticut Police Academy in Meriden. Instructors who knew the young recruits when they were just starting their careers believe the courageous officers will inspire the next generation of police.
“They stood right here,” Sgt. Geoffrey Anderson, retired Connecticut Police Academy training officer, and Hamzy’s class coordinator, said.
A memorial to the fallen officers stands outside the Connecticut Police Academy. At the end of their training, recruits pay a visit.
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“Officer Hamzy, and Sgt. DeMonte, they actually stood right there,” Anderson said. “They, as I recall, in their mud faces, had that determined look on their face. That 'alright, we're here, I understand what could happen.'”
Now posthumously promoted, the officers made the ultimate sacrifice, killed in an ambush after being called to a home in Bristol.
“It's devastating as one of their basic training instructors, to see someone like that so callous that they took two wonderful people out of this world, that just wanted to do something good,” Anderson said.
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Anderson said determination was written on their faces when DeMonte and Hamzy first came to the police academy.
“They can see their whole lives before them as police officers,” he said.
DeMonte was in class 337 in 2012, and Hamzy graduated from class 346 in 2014.
“This is an example of the room that Demonte and Hamzy would have stayed in,” Officer Romano Amleto, Connecticut Police Academy Training Officer, and Demonte’s class coordinator, said.
The academy was life for them for 22 weeks. The training instructors remember them by their nicknames.
“I called him ‘Defaz,’ and Hamzy, I call him ‘Hams,’” Anderson said.
The young men also stood out for pushing themselves to the limit physically.
“They were all covered in mud, with big smiles on their faces, knowing that they've accomplished a personal goal that wasn't easy. That involved a lot of sacrifice,” Anderson said.
Officer Romano Amleto, Connecticut Police Academy training officer and DeMonte's class coordinator, recalls DeMonte's positive attitude in class.
“He was one of those students that was always available to learn, his ears open, mouth shut kind of thing, and get it done. Occasionally had that smirk on his face as he's listening to you, but you knew he was getting it,” Romano said. “Sgt. Hamzy, again, same type of personality, as Lt. DeMonte. Very quiet individual, available to learn. Never a problem, took it seriously.”
The instructors say these driven attitudes carried the officers throughout their careers.
“Dustin becoming a sergeant, Alex joining the SWAT team, it takes a lot of heart to do both of those jobs,” Anderson said.
Almeto trains recruits in real-world situations, like utilizing firearms. Although he did not work with Officer Alec Iurato, who shot and killed the suspect that tragic night, he calls him a hero.
“He acted in a way you would hope every person in uniform would act under such dire circumstances,” Almeto said. “If you think of it, two of his friends were down. He was hit. He kept his cool and he saved lives. He saved a lot of lives.”
Now graduates of class 337 and class 346 prepare to attend their fallen comrades' funerals. Where DeMonte and Hamzy once sweat, there are tributes to their memories.
“A whole bunch of wonderful young people that want to step into the shoes," Anderson said.
The trainers say the memorials to two lives, dedicated to serving, will now stand as reminders to future generations of police.
“It gives solace to the families,” Anderson said. “47 other people, young people, want to step into their shoes, and are willing to take up the mantle, that their loved ones sacrificed their lives for people they didn't even know.”
