(NewsNation) — New body camera video shows a wounded Connecticut police officer bring down an ambush suspect.
In the footage released Sunday, the officer suffering from a gunshot wound in an attack that killed two of his co-workers manages to get behind a police cruiser and fire a single, deadly shot at the suspect.
According to the inspector general’s office, Officer Alec Iurato, Sgt. Dustin DeMonte and Officer Alex Hamzy responded to a 911 call made by Nicholas Brutcher on Wednesday.
Investigators say Brutcher opened fire on the law enforcement officers, shooting more than 80 rounds. The violence left DeMonte and Hamzy dead. Iurato received injuries to his leg.
“Shots fired, shots fired, more cars, send everyone,” Iurato can be heard saying in the body camera footage.
From there, authorities say Iurato crouched behind a police cruiser, took aim at the suspect and ended the threat. Brutcher died of a gunshot wound to the neck. According to the inspector general, evidence presented so far shows that Iurato’s shooting was justified since it appears the officers were lured to the scene.
Retired Fairfield, Connecticut police Chief Gary Macnamara appeared on “Dan Abrams Live” on Monday to talk about the ambush. Macnamara said the officers’ worst nightmare came true, and Iurato’s action showed strength.
“He knows he got shot. He knows that he has to try and eliminate the threat, so that he can try and save his fellow officers. So it’s important to note that, you know, it shows the strength, a sense of calmness under chaos,” Macnamara said. “For him to be able to take that one shot with a handgun is very significant. And the other point to notice, he says to send everybody. That’s kind of like a telltale sign that he knows it’s really, really, really bad, and he has just experienced his worst nightmare. Thankfully, he was able to survive and eliminate the threat.”
Iurato, 26, has worked for Bristol police for four years. He was released from a hospital Thursday.
Macnamara said the community is mourning the loss of DeMonte and Hamzy and trying to support their families during this difficult time.
“These officers, most of them, are homegrown. So they went to the high school, they went to the area … We always want officers to be engaged in the community. Tragically, because they are so engaged in the community, then they have families. This is going to get a lot worse with the funerals coming up,” Macnamara said.
DeMonte, 35, was a 10-year veteran of the police department. Hamzy, 34, had spent eight years working for the department. They are expected to be laid to rest in the coming week.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
