MOAB, Utah (ABC4) – The family of Gabby Petito filed an amended complaint against the Moab City Police on Wednesday, adding new complaints based on new information received by Petito’s lawyers.
The amended complaint, filed in Utah’s Seventh Judicial District Court of Grand County, alleges that comments made by Officer Eric Pratt since the incident include “damning admissions” that he knew Brian Laundrie was an emotional and mental threat to Petito. Petito’s attorneys further allege that in Pratt’s comments, he admits to knowingly and willfully chose not to follow the law to protect Petito despite Laundrie demonstrating “many dangerous red flags.”
Petito’s attorneys said that at the time of the incident in August 2021, Officer Pratt had summarized that Petito was the “primary aggressor” after speaking to both Petito and Laundrie as well as through witness testimonies. According to the amended complaint, Pratt has since said that he believed the opposite was true.
In the amended complaint, Pratt is quoted as saying Laundrie “seemed like a mental and emotional bully.” Petito’s attorneys say that because of these after-the-fact statements, Pratt willingly disregarded critical information in order to avoid issuing a citation, making an arrest, or giving a no-contact order.
According to the amended complaint, Moab City Police Department renewed a three-year commitment to the Lethality Assessment Protocol (LAP) in 2019, alleging that Pratt and other officers involved failed to follow the department’s own policies when responding to the incident.
“The failure to follow the Moab City Police Department’s policies and obligations to actively employ the LAP caused subordinates to breach their duty to Gabby, resulting in harm, and related damages, including but not limited to Gabby’s death,” the amended complaint reads.
The Petito family recently visited the Utah legislature to promote a bill that would require the LAP in reported cases of domestic violence. A fourth substitute of the bill unanimously passed through both the Utah House and Senate on Wednesday, March 1 and will now head to Gov. Spencer Cox’s desk.
To read the full copy of the amended complaint, including highlighted amendments, visit the website of Parker & McConkie law firm.
