Gabby Petito’s parents sue Utah police, alleging ‘negligence’ of officers, department led to her death

Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt, the parents of the late Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Moab City Police Department (MCPD) on Thursday claiming that its officers were negligent and “did not fully investigate” threats of domestic violence against the 22-year-old prior to her murder.

“The officers egregiously misinterpreted Gabby’s extreme emotional distress, seeing it as the cause of the domestic violence rather than its result,” wrote Petito and Schmidt’s attorneys, from Parker & McConkie law firm.

The $50 million lawsuit describes an incident before Gabby Petito’s death where police investigated violent interactions between the social media influencer and her fiance, Brian Laundrie.

That investigation was “deeply flawed,” according to the family’s lawyers, and pegged Petito rather than Laundrie as the predominant aggressor after both parties physically harmed one another.

“They failed to recognize or otherwise identify the obvious signs clearly indicating that Gabby was the victim of domestic abuse, including her assuming responsibility for the fight with Brian even though she described Brian grabbing her face so violently that it scratched her cheeks and drew blood,” the suit says of the Moab City police officers.

The lawsuit identifies MCPD Chief of Police Bret Edge, Assistant Chief of Police Braydon Palmer, Officer Eric Pratt, Officer Daniel Robbins and 10 unnamed employees of the department as defendants in the case.

“Gabby would still be alive if Moab Police Department had not hired, retained and/or failed to train officers who were fundamentally unfit and safe to employ in the capacity of police officer,” it reads.

Petito’s parents address Pratt’s record in the lawsuit, including allegations of sexual harassment and intimate partner violence against the officer.

Pratt allegedly abused his position as police chief to manipulate and sexually harass one woman before threatening to kill her if she disclosed his misconduct.

He is also accused of having sex with witnesses and in police vehicles.

“Moab City Police Department knew or should have known that Officer Pratt, who has a history of pervasive professional and sexual misconduct, including sexual harassment and intimate partner violence, was unfit and unsafe to be a police officer,” said Petito family attorney Brian C. Stewart at a press conference on Thursday.

In a statement to The Hill, Schmidt said: “If the officer responding to Gabby’s situation is an abuser himself who would threaten a girlfriend’s life, it makes sense why he believed Gabby’s abuser and ignored her injuries. With him in charge, I don’t think Gabby stood a chance.”