I am a retired Utah Police Officer and watched the two bodycam videos of the Moab Police Officer’s investigation of this domestic case involving Gabby Petito and her fiancé Brian Laundrie. Having investigated hundreds if not more cases of domestic violence, I have quite a bit of experience investigating these crimes. I also served as a field training officer, (FTO) I trained rookie police officers that graduated from the police academy.  I was also mental health crisis officer, (CIT) for short and assisted those having a mental health crisis. I am writing this article for those that are not only interested in this case and how Utah law enforcement is required to handle calls for domestic violence. I am also writing this article for women out there they may be involved in and abusive relationship, what you may be up against, what your rights are if you are found in a situation like this. 

The police roadside investigation:  Based on what I have seen in the two videos and from other sources, it’s my understanding that the Moab Police Officers believed that Gabby Petito was the “primary aggressor” of a domestic assault against her fiancé, Brian Laundrie. The Officers noted scratches on Brian Laundrie and Gabby admitted to hitting him. Gabby also had a scratch on her face and a bruise on her arm and she mentioned Brian grabbed her by the face.  I think the officer’s believed Gabby was the “primary aggressor”  because they were told that Gabby was fighting with Brian and was trying to get into the van which belonged to Brian. When asked by the officers, Gabby answered that she did not intend to cause pain to Brian but she said she wanted Brian to stop telling her to calm down while she was upset and had anxiety. Gabby was not forthcoming with information that would have helped her case which is typical of victims of domestic violence. It was obvious to me that the officer did not want to take this 100 pound, sweet young lady to jail and the officer spent a good amount of time trying to legally justify not arresting her, including calling his Chief to get a second opinion and checking the Utah Criminal code and the Utah Cohabitant abuse act. This investigation could have been handled better for sure; I saw two problems that may have contributed to an inadequate investigation. 1. The second officer on scene appeared to be a “back up officer” and did not stay in his role as a back up, or (cover officer). 2. These officer’s did not appear to have a great deal of experience and training in domestic violence calls. There was an independent witness that called in to dispatch that reported the fight between Brian and Gabby. This witness I believe said that there seemed to be a fight over a phone and it looked like Brian was trying to take her phone from her. If I had been the officer investigating this, that right there would have been a red flag, that maybe she was trying to call for emergency aid, Ie, (the police) or perhaps her doctor, or anyone else including her mother or a trusted friend to help her during the fight. That would have been important information to have, because if Brian had taken her phone by force, or fear, or if he knew she was calling for aid, that would have been one of several crimes he could have been arrested for.  I found that very odd, the officer’s did not address that issue.

The Moab Officers involved: The Contact and Cover Officer in action: 

Another problem in their investigation was that it appears the back up officer seemed to want to take control of the call, and was stepping on the toes of the investigating officer. A problem seen with inexperienced officers, or when someone with apparent more superiority over another officer goes against the interests of an investigation. Contact and cover is taught to police in their departments and in the police academy. This is supposed to work well when two officers understand what their role is supposed to be while working on an investigation. If officers don’t stay in their roles, it can really mess up an investigation and the victim loses as it appears what may have happened here. There were two main officers investigating the case. One of the officers (I think his name was Officer Pratt) appears to be the back up, or (cover officer) on the scene.  A cover officer’s job is mainly to protect the contact officer doing the communication and investigation done by the contact officer –  Pratt’s role should have been to simply be let the other officer, (the contact officer) , investigate and do all the talking, unless the contact officer requests something else, which I did not hear him asking Pratt to do. 

The officers seemed to be focused mostly on the physical evidence and what defines an assault by Utah Statute 76-5-102. Again, They missed an opportunity to inquire about the phone issue. More focus should have been on the that,  what started the fight and Brian’s behavior When a police officer is investigating a call of domestic violence they almost never see the crime themselves and have to rely on several things to form an intelligent decision on who goes to jail.

Some of those things should be; 

• Who called?
• Did anyone leave the scene before officers arrived and why?
• What the fight was about? Who has a motive to lie?
• Are their physical injuries, if both have injuries, can one injury look like self defense?
• who was the predominant aggressor?
• The statements of the parties involved and their demeanor
• The credibility of the person’s involved, (Gabby and Brian), was one of them lying, did one look guilty and the other one more believable? Does their story make sense?
• Independent witnesses, (they are strong to your case and have heavier evidence.
• The history of the parties, through prior reports, or criminal records and so on.

 

Gabby’ demeanor: I noticed Gabby’s demeanor to be that of a sweet young lady, to be truthful with a lot of worry about things and was very apologetic about her anxiety toward Brian. She was covering for Brian. She claimed she was sorry for “making him mad.” She appeared to me to be an abuse victim of domestic violence. She was a blogger and spent a lot of time doing that for her website, she did not appear to me as an aggressor at all.

My observations of Brian was that he was inconsistent (he was all over the place) he lied to the officers. Brian was nervous as to what Gabby may have told the officer’s and laughed when the officer told him he was a “victim” of assault. Brian was evasive and minimized his actions, taking no responsibility for his part in how he contributed to the fight with Gabby. He was creepy cool with and manipulated the officers, painting Gabby to be this out of control crazy person and painting himself as the “sane one,” and the officer’s fell for it.

The phone issue: 

It appears that the fight started because Brian wanted to go to the Park for the day and Gabby wanted to spend time working on her blog. The two got into a fight and there seemed to be an issue with Gabby’s phone that was never addressed and was likely what started the fight. I would have asked some questions about the phone, since it seemed to me that the phone belonged to Gabby and the van belonged to Brian. It appears Brian wanted her to stop working on her blog and there was a fight about that. It is possible Brian wanted to take Gabby’s phone with him to the park and Gabby wanted to keep her phone with her. Brian mentioned he did not want Gabby on the phone during the fight and it appears Brian took Gabby’s phone from her forcefully which would have been a domestic crime under Utah law,  For example let’s say Gabby was using her phone to call for emergency aid, ie the police, or even her mother or her doctor for help, that would be a crime of Interruption to or damage of a communication device, Utah 76-6-108, which is a crime of domestic violence under the Utah Cohabitant abuse act. 

Scenario 2, let’s say Brian just took her phone away forcefully from her, that would be technically robbery, Utah code (76-6-301), and theft under code (76-4-404).  Also, if the officer’s had delved into the circumstances of the phone and determined Brian took the phone away from Gabby against will that would have changed the role of predominant aggressor back to Brian, and even an assault charge could have been added to the list of charges against Brian. The Officers asked Brian if he had a phone in the interview, Brian said no, but then he pulled one out of his pocket during the interview.  

What I would have done: 

Based on the body cam videos and nothing else, the phone issue may have been what started the fight and if evidence supported Brian took the phone from Gabby without her permission and against her will by force then Brian could have been charged with the aforementioned charges and under Utah Law, the officer’s would have had to make a mandatory arrest of Brian and booked him into the jail. 

The injuries:

Also, the injuries are telling. Gabby said Brian “grabbed her by the face” which was supported by her having a visible scratch on her face, she also had a bruise on her arm. Brian only had scratches on his neck that I recall. The injuries to Brian, looked like Gabby was possibly defending herself, and the injuries to Gabby, looked more aggressive,  one possibility is that he may have forcefully held her down by her arm, and or face and it would make sense that she swung at him to get him to let go of her but  the officer’s did not even appear to analyze the injuries and compare the to the statements of the witness and Brian and Gabby’s statements. 

The Defund the police movement is harming our citizens and experienced officers are leaving the job with no support.

I think these officers’ hearts were in the right place and they desired  o do the right thing. This was a tough case, even the officer that wanted to be in charge eventually threw up his hands and told the contact officer to do what he wanted to do. It takes a lot of experience to handle domestic calls the best way possible, (especially this one). 

The phone issue should have been the focus of the investigation. These officer’s did not appear to have a lot of experience with domestic violence investigations and that matter was even more complicated with the cover officer not staying in his role.

  The Officer’s separation of the two: 

 It was not clear to me if the officer forced them to separate, or if they just made a recommendation to do so. 

If officer’s compelled Brian to stay in a hotel for the night that would not supported by Utah law. The officer’s can recommend it but they can not force him to do that. If an officer wants to separate two person’s the lawful solution is to take the predominant aggressor to jail, (in this case if I had made the decision Brian would have been booked into jail minimally for domestic assault and possibly other charges if it were established he took her phone against her will. 

With the de-fund the police movement, all around the country crime is skyrocketing and attacks on cops are getting more common and seasoned veteran officers are retiring and leaving the badge in the hands of younger, less experienced officers to hold the line and fight crime. I believe if officers were treated better and had more support, then experienced officers would come back to the job and the public would benefit in that, especially in domestic violence cases.

To any women reading this who are victims of domestic violence:

If a man hits a woman, he is not a man. If the man does not respect you, blames you, or puts you down, he is not worth your time. If you are in an abusive relationship or have been you will know, these men start out very charming and you will fall for them head over heels. When you accept them, and then they turn on you and start deciding who your friends are, what you wear, who you can spend time with, and so on, this is domestic abuse. The physical part starts with pushing, hitting, slapping, and fists and it always will escalate until there is a rock bottom with the abuser, and hopefully doesn’t end up with you getting killed. This is something that I saw in my career. The most dangerous time for you is when you try to leave and you need a plan.  The law is on your side if you seek out help and report things. The odds of the police being able to get there in time to save your life when he comes after you are slim to none. Take charge of your life, learn to defend yourself in the event that your life is in danger.  

I welcome comments and want everyone to stay safe. 

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Phil Snyder

(Retired) Unified Police Officer of Salt Lake.

Utah Concealed Firearms Instructor