Official legal action has been taken by Gabby Petito‘s parents against the Moab City Police Department in Utah as a result of their daughter’s passing. According to a news statement, the complaint was submitted on Thursday in response to the department’s “failures and negligence,” which ultimately resulted in the 22-year-death old’s the previous year.
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The Moab Police Department, Police Chief Bret Edge, Assistant Chief Braydon Palmer, Officers Daniel Robbins, and Eric Pratt, as well as 10 unnamed people, were all named defendants in the case. According to the lawsuit, Petito’s death was caused by “negligent hiring and failure to properly train” on the part of the department.
The family of Petito is suing for $50 million in losses.
Petito and her ex-fiance Brian Laundrie were in Moab, the lawsuit claims when someone saw Laundrie hit Petito and dialled 911. After Petito informed her family that she had been struck, the family tried to arrange for her to return home but “stepped back” as soon as the police became involved.
Weeks later, close to a campground outside Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park, Petito’s body was discovered. Laundrie was discovered dead in a Florida reserve after going missing following her demise. In a journal that was discovered close to his body, he admitted to killing her.
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“Despite the witness’s report, the officers treated Brian as if he were the victim of domestic abuse rather than the perpetrator,” the lawsuit alleges. “…The officers egregiously misinterpreted Gabby’s extreme emotional distress, seeing it as the cause of the domestic violence rather than its result. Officer Pratt, in particular, was fundamentally biased in his approach to the investigation, choosing to believe Gabby’s abuser, ignoring evidence that Gabby was the victim, and intentionally looking for loopholes to get around the requirements of Utah law and his duty to protect Gabby.”
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The family’s attorney, James McConkie, stated in a statement that the lawsuit aims to hold those responsible accountable and bring about structural changes for victims of domestic abuse.
“The epidemic of domestic violence is a silent killer, the sign and symptoms of which often go unrecognized by those not familiar with interpersonal violence,” McConkie said. “This affliction could very well affect each one of us or a loved one at some point in our lives, often with tragic consequences. To combat domestic violence, each of us has to do our part to call out abusers and know how to identify systemic problems that enable abuse, even when that is difficult to do.”
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The police force and its personnel “failed Gabby by failing to follow the law and failing to protect Gabby when they had the opportunity to do so,” according to the press release.
A domestic violence incident was investigated by Moab Police, who found that the responding officers “made several unintentional mistakes that stemmed from the fact that officers failed to cite Ms. Petito for domestic violence.”
The city stated that it “believes our officers showed kindness, respect, and empathy in their handling of this incident,” despite the report’s recommendations for changes to police rules and training.
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“The City of Moab sends our sincere condolences to the Petito family. Our hearts go out to them as they continue to deal with the tragic loss of their daughter,” in a statement, the city mentioned the inquiry.
