Seven shocking moments from Gabby Petito bodycam that saw cops fist-bump ‘dude’ Brian Laundrie and make crucial errors
BODYCAM footage from the Gabby Petito-Brian Laundrie stop in Moab has revealed seven shocking moments along with errors made by cops.
Gabby's parents have filed a $50million lawsuit against the Moab City Police Department, blaming its officers for "failing to protect" the vlogger in the August 12, 2021 domestic violence call that was captured on bodycam.
The bodycam footage followed a police and park ranger response to a 911 call about a domestic violence incident between Gabby and Brian outside the Moonflower Cafe, just weeks before she went missing.
Footage of the encounter shows a visibly distressed Gabby telling officers that she and Brian had been "fighting all morning."
Gabby's bruises
In the bodycam footage, Gabby, 22, recounts to responding officers how Brian, 23, grabbed her face and left a "burning" gash on her cheek, and red marks on her arm.
She is seen turning her head to let them look at her injuries.
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Cops reportedly also noticed some bruises Gabby had on her arm.
“Did he hit you though? I mean, it's OK if you're saying you hit him. I understand if he hit you, but we want to know the truth if he actually hit you," the cop asked her.
"I, I guess, yeah, but I hit him first…" Gabby replies before the officer pushes her for more details.
"He like grabbed my face, like, like I guess. He didn’t like like hit me in the face. He didn’t like punch me in the face.
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"Well, he like grabbed me, like, with his nail, and I guess that's why it hurts. I definitely have a cut. Like, I can feel it."
No pictures were taken of the scratch on her face or the bruise on her arm that Officer Eric Pratt claimed looked like it had been there for a few days.
Fist bump with cops
Brian, meanwhile, had a calmer demeanor during the stop.
He was spotted fist bumping one of the cops who arrived to the scene after a 911 call was placed reporting the possible domestic violence incident.
The officers were also seen laughing and joking with Brian before telling him "we feel bad for you."
Later in the incident, Officer Daniel Robbins drives Brian to a hotel.
The two men then engage in a friendly conversation about listening to music in the car.
Robbins again apologizes to Brian for the inconvenience and says he understands how hard it is to have a partner with anxiety.
The officer also offers up tips for where Brian should travel, suggesting they head toward California and Oregon.
Incorrect name
During the 77-minute long bodycam video, one officer, Daniel Robbins, takes down Gabby's last name while gathering her information.
However, he repeated it incorrectly into his radio.
An independent investigation into mistakes cops made during the stop found that the officers failed to adequately request background information on both Gabby and Brian.
Officers also failed to take pictures of their drivers licenses.
"Because of the misspelled name, if there had been a protective order under her name, there’s a chance they wouldn’t have found it," the report states.
'You did nothing wrong'
After Robbins takes Gabby's last name incorrectly, he consults with a third officer who shares the information that the 911 caller had provided.
That officer says: "It sounds to me like she is the primary aggressor."
The third officer then goes back to Brian and says they believe that he is a "victim of a domestic assault."
When Gabby going to jail is presented as an option, Brian protests and offers to spend the night in jail instead of Gabby, but the officer says: "You did nothing wrong."
Robbins also offers support to Brian, saying: "I’m sorry that all this has happened. I’m sorry that it went to this extent."
Missed signs of abuse
The new lawsuit alleges that officers failed to "recognize the obvious indicators of abuse" when they interviewed an almost inconsolable Gabby in the back of a squad car.
Had they noticed the apparent indicators, "it would have been clear to them that Gabby was a victim of intimate partner violence and needed immediate protection," the suit states.
The filing further claims that, when answering questions about her fight with Brian, Gabby displayed to officers all of the "classic hallmarks of an abused partner" that they apparently did not pick up on.
"[Gabby was] attempting to take the blame for the fight because she had hit Brian first and did not want to be separated from him," the suit claims.
"Whether for lack of training or refusal to follow their training, the officers did not press further."
The bodycam footage shows Gabby in hysterics, which continue through much of the 77-minute video.
The apparently missed signals were succeeded by a misapplication of Utah state law, according to the Petitos.
Utah law
During the stop, Pratt called Assistant Police Chief Braydon Palmer for guidance on how to proceed while evaluating the situation between Brian and Gabby.
Palmer advised Pratt to read the state's assault statute - which Pratt Googled and allegedly only read half of.
"Officer Pratt [then] decided - incorrectly - that Utah law only recognizes assault if the perpetrator intended to cause bodily injury," claims Gabby's family.
"Based on that incomplete and incorrect understanding of the law, Officer Pratt questioned Gabby about whether she intended to cause Brian bodily injury when she hit him. Gabby said no."
Ultimately, officers Pratt and Robbins decided to separate the pair for the night and pursue no further action, with Pratt suggesting that if the couple later found each other it "wouldn't be the officer's responsibility."
Cover ups
Two weeks after the initial bodycam footage was released on September 16, 2021, a second video from Pratt was made public by Moab police.
The second video came out five days after Gabby was reported missing.
That video revealed injuries to Gabby's neck and face.
It also contained information revealing Gabby's anxiety at having to be separated from Brian as the resolution to the cop stop.
As a direct result of the police's alleged failures, the Petito family said their "daughter was brutally murdered" just over two weeks later.
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Citing a series of personal losses to both sets of parents, in addition to the physical and emotional harm suffered by Gabby, the Petitos are seeking $50million in damages from Moab PD.
The Moab Police Department declined to comment to The U.S. Sun, saying: "The City does not comment on pending litigation."