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Utah’s domestic violence laws and the actions of the Moab Police Department are under re-examination Friday as new body camera footage reveals more about the violent brawl between Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie, Utah on August 12.
A nearly hour-long video obtained by Fox News Thursday night shows Gabby Petito telling Moab cop Eric Pratt that Laundrie hit her before she backed up and claimed to have hit first.
The response ended without arrest and Laundrie stayed in a hotel that night, according to a police report. The couple continued their van journey until Petito was found dead in Wyoming on September 19, while Laundrie – a person of interest in his homicide and on a federal arrest warrant for debit card fraud – stay on the run.
Brett Tolman, a former U.S. prosecutor in Utah – and other critics on social media – question whether police should have done more in responding to the August 12 incident.
Moab Police Officer Eric Pratt, in body camera footage released by investigators, is seen speaking to Brian Laundrie on August 12. (City of Moab Police Department)
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“Now they have an objective eyewitness, a dispatch, and Gabby herself who says Brian hit her,” Tolman told Fox News after the new body camera footage aired. “Why they didn’t take him into custody is mind boggling. I understand the hindsight is 20/20, but it’s an absolute failure to properly assess the timing and make an appropriate decision based on the facts and the law.”
Moab Deputy Police Chief Braydon Palmer, interviewed by Fox News on Friday on how Pratt handled the incident, said: “We cannot comment further at this time.”
He cited an ongoing investigation the city has launched into the management by the Petito-Laundrie wrestling department, adding that “it is important for us to ensure that the integrity of this investigation is maintained and that due process. for those involved is protected “.
In Utah, “the primary duty of law enforcement officials responding to a domestic violence call is to protect the victim and uphold the law,” according to the state legislature.
“When a peace officer answers a domestic violence call and has reasonable grounds to believe that an act of domestic violence has been committed, the peace officer must arrest without a warrant or issue a summons to any person. that the peace officer has probable cause to believe that he has committed an act of domestic violence, “he continues.
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The law also states that “if a law enforcement officer receives complaints of domestic violence from two or more opposing persons, the officer will assess each complaint separately to determine who was the predominant perpetrator.” If the officer determines that one person was the predominant physical aggressor, the officer does not need to arrest the other person suspected of having committed domestic violence. ”
In Pratt’s body camera footage obtained by Fox News, he is heard asking fellow Response Officer Daniel Robbins, “How far do you want to go with this?”
“You know why the domestic assault code is there. It’s there to protect people,” Pratt continued. “The reason they don’t give us discretion over these things is because too many times women at risk want to go back to their abuser, they just wanted him to stop, they don’t want to have to be. separated, they say, “I don’t want him charged, they don’t want him to go to jail and then they end up getting worse and worse treatment and end up being killed.”
“The reason they don’t give us discretion over these things is because too many times women at risk want to go back to their abuser, they just wanted him to stop, they don’t want to have to be. separated, they don’t I don’t want him to be charged, they don’t want him to go to jail and then they end up getting worse and worse treatment and end up being killed. ”
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In a 2019 podcast, Pratt said he previously worked as a correctional officer for the state of Utah and was the police chief for Salina, which has approximately 2,500 residents, until the end of 2017.
“When I left Salina, I was trying to quit law enforcement for good, and I did so about eight or nine months before I went back,” he said during his speech. appearance on the “Books in Heinessight” podcast. “There aren’t a lot of job opportunities outside of law enforcement in central Utah.”
Pratt then mentioned during the show that “I’m trying to get out of law enforcement again – not because it’s not a respectable career and it’s not that I don’t. doesn’t respect the work of law enforcement, but at some point in my life my heart – I didn’t fall in love with it anymore, if that makes sense. ”
As for its handling of the Petito-Laundrie incident, the City of Moab said in a statement last week that its police department “has clear standards for the conduct of officers in a possible domestic conflict and our officers. are trained to follow these standards and protocol “.
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“At this time, the city of Moab is not aware of any violation of police department policy during this incident,” he added.
But since the investigation was announced, Moab Police Chief Bret Edge has taken time off.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE or text “START” to 88788.
Michael Ruiz of Fox News contributed to this report.
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