Beyond the badge and notebook
Oct. 22—Our thoughts are with the families and coworkers of Bristol Police Sgt. Dustin Demonte and Officer Alex Hamzy.
Their deaths in the line of duty are infinitely sad and senseless, and those who knew and loved them will be struggling with their losses long after news outlets have moved on to other stories.
We're also thinking about the surviving Bristol officer, Alec lurato, who was shot in the leg and who shot and killed the gunman. He'll have to heal from his physical wounds and process the trauma he's endured, all while the state Division of Criminal investigates whether his use of deadly force to kill the gunman was justified.
Already, Inspector General Robert J. Devlin Jr. has released partial body camera footage from the Oct. 12 incident and issued a statement indicating that, "Although some details of the investigation remain to be determined, it is evident from the evidence collected so far that Officer Iurato's use of deadly force was justified."
The use of body cameras and the establishment of the Office of Inspector General, with a transparent process to investigate police shootings, has made investigation of tragic incidents like this more transparent to everyone's benefit. These are recent and positive developments in Connecticut.
You might think journalists and police have an adversarial relationship. Sometimes that's true, but more often, we have working relationships built on mutual respect and an understanding that we all do important work.
Everyone who works in The Day newsroom covers police in some manner, whether it's gathering police logs and writing up news briefs, going to crime scenes or editing police-related stories. The newsroom police scanner rarely goes quiet, so we hear police working in real time as we do our own jobs.
Two years ago, after the death of George Floyd spurred national calls for police accountability, Day reporters requested use of force reports and civilian complaints from every area police department. Some of them groaned, but all complied.
We identified issues that needed improvement, but also recognized that things can go wrong even when police are acting within the scope of their duties.
We covered protests where people marched the streets and chanted, "Defund the police."
We wrote about reforms and legislation and about resulting low morale and recruiting difficulties experienced by local police departments.
We critique the police. The police critique us. But we count on them to be there when we need them and recognize their jobs are dangerous and stressful.
When Executive Editor Tim Cotter reached out to New London Police Chief Brian Wright a couple of weeks ago to tell him about a political debate we were hosting at The Garde Arts Center with several partners, Wright assured him there would be a police presence outside the theater. There were at least two uniformed officers there, and after the debate ended, we ran into Wright himself, standing at the back of the theater.
Times are tough for both professions as we cope with financial pressures and the erosion of public trust.
Beyond the badge and the notebook, we're all human, and the vast majority of us are doing our best to serve the public.
When something like Bristol happens, it hurts us all.
This is the opinion of Engagement Editor Karen Florin. Reach her at k.florin@theday.com or (860) 701-4217.
