The parents of Gabby Petito have filed a US$50-million wrongful death lawsuit against the Moab City Police Department.
They claim the officers who questioned Petito only weeks before she was killed by her fiancé Brian Laundrie were “fundamentally biased” and negligent in investigating claims of domestic violence.
The lawsuit was filed on Thursday.
Brian Laundrie talks to a police officer after police pulled over the van he was travelling in with his girlfriend, Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Petito, near the entrance to Arches National Park in Utah on Aug. 12, 2021.
The Moab City Police Department
Moab police maintain that Petito’s death was not the fault of local authorities.
“Our officers acted with kindness, respect, and empathy toward Ms. Petito,” city spokesperson Lisa Adams said in a statement. “No one could have predicted the tragedy that would occur weeks later and hundreds of miles away, and the City of Moab will ardently defend against this lawsuit.”
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In the lawsuit, lawyers also claim Moab police misapplied Utah’s laws related to domestic abuse, which require action be taken in response to domestic violence incidents. They also claim police were improperly trained to handle such incidences.
The suit claims police officers “coached Gabby to provide answers that the officers used to justify their decision not to enforce Utah law.”
After a short investigation, police did not issue a domestic violence citation. The lawsuit claims police determined Petito was the instigator of violence.
“No one here, the four of us… don’t want to be here. We’d give it up in a second if she was back,” said Joseph Petito during a press conference in Salt Lake City on Thursday.
