Petito family amends lawsuit, says Moab police didn’t use safety protocol

SALT LAKE CITY — The family of Gabby Petito has amended a lawsuit filed against the Moab City Police Department in Utah.

According to the family’s attorney, Moab City Police did not use a Lethality Assessment Protocol (LAP) when they spoke with Petito and her boyfriend Brian Laundrie, during a traffic stop in August 2021.

The attorney said Moab police had agreed to implement the LAP in 2018, but that “Moab was not doing anything to employ the LAP at the time … Moab responded in Gabby’s case.”

The subject of a Lethality Assessment Protocol is the basis for S.B.117.  The bill requires Utah law enforcement agencies to ask a series of questions during a domestic violence call. The questions help determine whether the victim is at risk of lethal violence.

At the time of publication, S.B.117 was waiting in the Senate to be heard.

There is another new claim in the lawsuit. Petito’s family now says an officer willingly chose not to protect Petito, after a conversation with Laundrie during that traffic stop.

Officials later found Petito’s body near Grand Teton National Park. The FBI found Laundrie’s remains in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in Florida in late October 2021.

This story will be updated.

Our previous coverage of the Gabby Petito case:

• Gabby Petito timeline: Her summer trip, disappearance, and murder
• Analysts say investigators ‘missed opportunities’ in Gabby Petito investigation
• FBI: Human remains found during search for Brian Laundrie
• Medical examiner and cadaver dog called to park where investigators found Brian Laundrie’s items

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