(HorizonPost.com) – On August 12, 2021, Utah police responded to a domestic violence incident involving Gabby Petito and her fiancé Brian Laundrie. Instead of listing the altercation as a domestic incident and either arresting or citing Petito for her admitted assault, the officers reportedly mishandled the situation and let them both go their separate ways. According to investigators, the officers should have listed the call as domestic violence rather than assuming it was a mental health break issue.
Captain Brandon Ratcliffe of the Price City Police Department reviewed the officers’ response to the stop following a complaint filed with the Moab Police Department alleging police coached Petito’s admission.
An outside investigation into the Aug. 12 domestic violence incident between Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie in Moab, Utah, found "unintentional mistakes" – and issued a number of recommendations on how the department should move forward. https://t.co/3FgmzWH6rR
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Sadly, his investigation revealed the police officers on the scene that day made unintentional mistakes in their assessment of the incident. Even though Ratcliffe found the cops should have issued a citation against Petitio, it doesn’t necessarily mean doing so would have saved her from her eventual fate. He wrote she was likely a “long-term victim of domestic violence” in his report.
Moab officials decided to add more legal and domestic violence training for their officers following the report to prevent similar mistakes going forward. The City of Moab also relayed its condolences to Gabby Petito’s family.
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