A report released by the Connecticut Office of Inspector General paints Nicholas Brutcher as a man with mounting stressors in his life leading up to the 2022 shooting of Bristol officers. “Nicholas Brutcher’s evil deeds simply may be beyond our ability to comprehend,” he wrote.
A report released by the Connecticut Office of Inspector General on the killings of two Bristol police officers in 2022 paints the shooter, Nicholas Brutcher, as a man who struggled with his sexuality and had a number of mounting stressors in his life as he appeared to fall into a deep depression in the months leading up to the shootings.
The 66-page report, released Wednesday, looked deep into Brutcher’s background and personal life in an attempt to explain his murderous and brutal rampage that took the lives of 35-year-old Lt. Dustin DeMonte and 34-year-old Sgt. Alex Hamzy on Oct. 12, 2022. A third officer, Alec Iurato, was shot in the leg but was able to take cover and kill Brutcher, preventing any further violence toward police after authorities discovered he made a phony domestic violence report to lure police to his home at 310 Redstone Hill Road.
The report also looked to determine whether Brutcher’s brother could face charges in the killings, which has yet to happen.
Though the Inspector General Robert Devlin Jr. is usually tasked with determining whether an officer’s use of force was justified, his investigation focused much more heavily on narrowing down what may have motivated Brutcher to turn what started as a night out at a local bar with his brother into an ambush attack against police with an assault rifle. Just days after the attacks, Devlin said it was obvious based on the evidence that Iurato’s actions were justified and prevented further tragedy.
Bristol Mayor Jeffrey Caggiano told The Courant that Devlin’s report “took so long” to release because it was “extremely comprehensive.”
“The report goes well beyond the (Inspector General’s) statutory requirements for an officer-involved shooting, but we are thankful that they have released all publicly relevant information on this case,” Caggiano said. “While this is one of the darkest days in Bristol history, we have had a chance to review the report fully, and I concur with the findings in the report.”
During the investigation, Devlin’s office spoke to several friends of Brutcher, his employer, parents and brother to get a better understanding of his mental state in the days, weeks, months and even years leading up to the shootings. They also analyzed his cell phone, where they found aspects of his life he kept secret, and were assisted by the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit in diving into his background.
According to Devlin’s report, Brutcher, the oldest of four children, grew up in Bristol and graduated from Bristol Central High School in 2005. After school, he told multiple people he enlisted in the Army but was rejected — something authorities were unable to verify through records kept by the Department of Defense.
Friends and former classmates of Brutcher described him as a “bully” who threw his weight around. He played football and wrestled in high school and was someone who liked to fight, even into his adult years, the report said.
According to the report, Brutcher married in 2015, had two kids and got divorced in 2019. Those close to him say he struggled with the divorce, becoming “dark” and “jaded,” before getting even worse in early 2022 when he learned his ex-wife had moved on. It was at this same time that he believed a friend did something to betray him.
People close to him told investigators that Brutcher went into a downward spiral that led to him drinking hard liquor every day and exacerbated his struggles with substance abuse, the report said. Devlin’s investigation found that Brutcher abused cocaine and marijuana — which were found in his system during an autopsy — while also taking antidepressants. His blood alcohol content was three times the legal drinking limit to drive a car on the night of the killings.
One friend told Devlin’s office Brutcher confided in him that he had considered suicide at one point after his divorce.
Brutcher’s boss at a liner systems company based in Plantsville told investigators he started working for the company as a teenager and was initially a good employee who worked his way up to supervising large-scale job sites. He would later be moved to smaller jobs and working around the shop in the last few years of his life, as his boss alleged that he began sitting in the company truck at job sites and would not do much work.
In the six to nine months prior to the shooting, those close to him said Brutcher’s behavior got worse. When he would drink, Brutcher’s father said he would express a desire to murder a former friend he felt betrayed him and “kill his whole blood line,” according to the report.
A friend of Brutcher told investigators he had once said “I’m just trying the hardest I can not to kill the guy” when speaking about the former friend.
An examination of Brutcher’s cell phone revealed that he had several personal problems beyond just his failed marriage and his desire to reconcile with his ex-wife.
Brutcher generally displayed a “tough guy” persona, though he appeared to struggle with his sexuality, Devlin wrote. Beginning in November 2021, he first downloaded Grindr and would repeatedly uninstall and reinstall the app over the next 11 months, Devlin wrote.
“It appears that Nicholas Brutcher sought to keep this aspect of his life secret,” Devlin wrote in the report.
Text messages in Brutcher’s phone also revealed that he was allegedly involved in a “volatile, hostile, and toxic” long-distance relationship with a woman who continually pushed to move into his home with him along with her children, according to the report.
“Were this to happen, it would likely impact Nicholas Brutcher’s ability to continue his bisexual lifestyle,” Devlin wrote.
The day of the shooting, the same woman informed Brutcher that she may be pregnant, an analysis of his phone showed. His cell phone also revealed a different woman told Brutcher in February 2022 he had gotten her pregnant and that her due date was sometime in October, the report said.
Investigators found that Brutcher had pursued therapy and had been taking antidepressants. Digging into his background, authorities discovered that he bought 14 guns between 2008 and 2020, including an assault rifle that he was required to get a special certificate for after the Sandy Hook shooting. No record of him applying for the certificate could be found.
Investigators also could not find any history of anti-police sentiment, with one friend of Brutcher’s even describing him as “pro-police,” the report said. Another friend told investigators he “was not anti-police and that he was actually friendly with Officer Alex Hamzy.”
Devlin’s investigation found that a likely motive for the shooting was the state of Brutcher’s life at the time, which included financial debt along with the looming possibility of a third child, combined with his interaction with police and his mother in the hours before the deadly ambush.
After getting into a physical fight with a man at Bleacher’s Bar shortly before 9 p.m., Brutcher left the bar with his brother in his work truck and the two were pulled over by officers investigating the bar disturbance, the report said. During the traffic stop, Brutcher got into a contentious battle of words with an officer at the scene after Brutcher began insulting the officer and making lewd comments about him.
During the interaction, an officer told Brutcher, “People are proud of you,” to which Brutcher replied “My parents definitely are,” according to the report. During the stop, Brutcher’s mother was called by police to pick both of her sons up and when she arrived, she publicly scolded him for his actions and said he was embarrassing their family.
According to Devlin’s report, as Brutcher stood over Hamzy and fired several shots at him, could be heard on police body camera footage saying “How proud are you of me? How proud?” Brutcher’s statement came as both of his parents had come running out of their home before witnessing the killings.
Devlin wrote in his findings that Brutcher’s comments “mirrored” the statement an officer made to him during the traffic stop, adding that it could also “relate to the humiliation he felt from his mother’s public criticism.”
Though the investigation looked to establish a motive for the killings, Devlin emphasized that “Nicholas Brutcher is the murderer here.”
“It would be wrong to place any blame for the attack on the traffic stop officers or others in Nicholas Brutcher’s life,” Devlin wrote, adding that it’s possible investigators were unable to find what “may have motivated Nicholas Brutcher’s decision to attack the officers that day.”
“Nicholas Brutcher’s evil deeds simply may be beyond our ability to comprehend,” he added.
The investigation also looked to determine if Brutcher’s brother, Nathan Brutcher, was involved in the attack or planning it — a question Devlin concluded could not be fully answered.
According to the report, Nathan Brutcher allegedly went to his mother’s home next door shortly before the attacks and told her his brother was putting on armor and fatigues and was “calling the cops and telling them to come back here.”
The mother told investigators she returned to her bedroom for some time before she and her husband left the home and witnessed part of the ambush. What Nathan Brutcher did after his interaction with his mother remains unclear.
According to Devlin’s report, Nathan Brutcher was “not truthful” during two interviews with investigators. He told authorities that he was sleeping during the attacks and was only awoken when he heard gunfire.
Body camera footage from the officers showed not only that he was not sleeping, but that he approached the doorway of the home as police arrived on the scene and was ordered to come out of the house before gunfire erupted. He was shot in the thigh and knee as his brother peppered the area with gunfire and spent two days in Saint Francis Hospital in Hartford.
According to Devlin’s report, Nathan Brutcher also denied having a conversation with his mother about Nicholas Brutcher putting on fatigues and calling police. During the call, Nicholas Brutcher told police his brother was acting aggressive and that he felt he needed a “talking to,” the report said.
When he spoke to investigators, Nathan Brutcher attributed his lack of memory of the events to him taking a Xanax bar when he was pulled over earlier in the evening, the report said. He denied being with his brother when he called police to lure them to the home.
According to Devlin’s report, authorities tested Nathan’s Brutcher’s hands for gunshot residue after the shooting and a lab test showed that he “tested positive for some elements of gunshot residue.”
“The laboratory report notes that this result does not prove whether Nathan Brutcher fired a firearm nor whether a firearm was fired near him,” Devlin wrote. “The report further states that gunshot residue particles can be transferred by casual contact.”
According to Devlin, investigators did not find any video or other evidence suggesting Nathan Brutcher fired a gun. Additionally, the analysis of Nicholas Brutcher’s phone did not turn up any evidence indicating his brother helped him plan the attack.
Whether or not Nathan Brutcher could be charged in the killings is up to New Britain Judicial District State’s Attorney Christian M. Watson. Devlin said he consulted with Watson during the investigation about any evidence against the brother.
“It is the view of State’s Attorney Watson, with which I fully agree, that at the present time there is insufficient evidence to charge Nathan Brutcher with criminal involvement in the murders of Officer Hamzy and Sgt. DeMonte or the assault of Officer Iurato,” Devlin wrote.
“This is not to say categorically that Nathan Brutcher is innocent, but rather that there is not sufficient probable cause to bring a criminal charge against him,” he wrote.
