Two police officers in Utah who responded to a 911 report of domestic violence between Gabby Petito and her fiance, Brian Laundrie, found “several unintentional mistakes,” according to a review released Wednesday.
The 102-page report examining the conduct of Moab police officers Eric Pratt and Daniel Robbins, written by Capt. Brandon Ratcliffe of the Price City Police Department, offers a critique of the Aug. 12, 2021, traffic stop in the days before 22-year-old Petito disappeared during the road trip, leading to a widely reported search in which Petito was found dead in a Wyoming park a month later.
Among the mistakes for which Ratcliffe faulted the officers was that they did not make an arrest under the domestic violence statutes of Utah when they pulled over the couple at Arches National Park. One of the responding officers in the traffic stop, shown in body camera footage that has already been released by the Moab City Police Department, noted in his report that Petito was “struggling with her mental health” and determined that separating the couple for the night was the proper course of action.
“After reviewing all the information and speaking with the officers, I am confident and comfortable in stating the mistakes that were made were not made intentionally,” Ratcliffe said.
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“The officers did not know what they were doing was wrong at the time and did not make the decision to benefit themselves in any way,” Ratcliffe added. “They both believed at the time they were making the right decision based on the totality of the circumstances that were presented.”
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Ratcliffe made several recommendations in his report, including probation for Pratt and Robbins, different types of training, and reviews of police policies and software “used to transfer files to reduce the risk of photographic evidence being lost in the future.” The city of Moab said in a statement Wednesday that it “intends to implement the report’s recommendations,” according to KUTV.
Petito’s family reported her missing on Sept. 11, saying they hadn’t heard from her since the end of August. This was after Laundrie had driven home to Florida on Sept. 1 without her.
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The couple had been traveling the country and posted on social media about their “van life.” They left for their trip on July 22 from New York. The couple made subsequent stops in Colorado and Utah.
Laundrie, 23, went missing shortly before Petito was found dead in Wyoming’s Bridger-Teton National Forest on Sept. 19. Authorities ruled her death a homicide and said Laundrie was a person of interest in the case. After recovering Petito’s body, an arrest warrant for Laundrie was issued, which was followed by a manhunt. Laundrie’s remains were found at the Carlton Reserve in Florida after an extensive search Oct. 20.
A lawyer for the Laundrie family said an autopsy confirmed he had died by suicide from a gunshot wound to the head.
