An independent report revealed that Utah police made unprecedented mistakes while encountering Gabby Petito and her fiancé Brian Laundrie – a month before she was found dead in Wyoming.
The independent review which is conducted by Price City Police department’s Captain Brandon Ratcliffe located in Utah.
He stated that the officers responded to the August 12 incident which took place between Gabby Petito and her fiancé Brian Laundrie but they dismissed it. The reports presented by the officers were also lacking crucial details.
This independent investigation was instigated by a lawyer who filed a proper complaint raising critical questions about how the incident was handled by the police of Utah.
According to the report, the encounter began after police received a 911 call about a “domestic disturbance” involving two people driving a van. An officer pulled over the van, which Laundrie was driving, on a road heading to Arches National Park after it crossed the double yellow line and struck a curb,
Gabby told the on-scene officers that she had slapped Laundrie first and hit him also but the officers did not document these details. They did not record any injury which she suffered. They did not notice the scratch on her cheek. Petito did tell the officers that Laundrie had grabbed her by her face.\
One of the officers had stated in the report that “the incident was “more accurately categorized as a mental/emotional health ‘break’ than a domestic assault.”
According to the independent review, “the incident could’ve been declared as a domestic violence incident which would have made the officer arrested or issued a certain citation. the incident was “more accurately categorized as a mental/emotional health ‘break’ than a domestic assault.”
The initial call at 911 had reported “the gentleman slapped the girl” but no investigation was done by the officers.
“Both written reports are missing significant details as it relates to the who, what, when, where, and how as it relates to this incident,” Ratcliffe wrote.
Petito and Laundrie had been on a cross-country trip in their van when the mysterious disappearance of the Gabby Petito raised alarm and later Laundrie returned home alone. Her body was found in Wyoming days later.
Her death was ruled out as a homicide.
Brian Laundrie disappeared but later was found dead in October.
