Officers Pratt and Robbins did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
“The independent agency’s investigative report finds that the officers who responded to the incident made several unintentional mistakes that stemmed from the fact that officers failed to cite Ms. Petito for domestic violence,” a statement said.
Per recommendations of the report, the city said it will step up its training for the Moab City Police Department on domestic violence investigations and its review process for incident reports, among other areas.
“The City of Moab sends our sincere condolences to the Petito family. Our hearts go out to them as they continue to deal with the tragic loss of their daughter,” the statement said.
To study the situation, Ratcliffe reviewed body camera footage to return Pratt and Robbins' conversations with Petito, 22, and Laundrie, 23, on Aug. 12. That morning,someone called policeafter the couple appeared to argue outside a food cooperative called Moonflower, and authorities pulled them over a short time later.
Per the report, Robbins approached the vehicle, immediately separating Petito and Laundrie before interviewing them about the alleged altercation.
“We’ve just been fighting this morning, some personal issues,” Petito explained through tears. She then told police that she had become frustrated with Laundrie earlier in the day.
During his interview, Laundrie said that once Petito became frustrated, he locked the doors to the van and suggested they go on a walk to cool off. When the officer asked Laundrie about scratches on his face and neck, he replied: “She had her phone and was trying to get the keys from me. I said, ‘Let’s just step back and breathe,’ and she got me with her phone.”
The couple agreed to separate for the night, and Petito kept the van while Laundrie headed to a hotel.
Later, in paperwork, police would categorize the incident as one of “disorderly conduct” – which Ratcliffe cited as a erroneous. The police captain said the incident should have been recorded as domestic violence against Petito, as she admitted tohitting her fiancéafter he grabbed her face. (Though Petito’s face was scratched, there was not sufficient evidence at this point to also potentially charge Laundrie.)
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Ratcliffe recommended that Pratt and Robbins be placed on probation and receive more technical training on report writing, domestic violence investigations, law, policy and more – but clarified that he believes they did the best they could in the fast-moving situation.
“After reviewing all the information and speaking with the officers, I am confident and comfortable in stating the mistakes that were made were not made intentionally. The officers did not know what they were doing was wrong at the time and did not make the decision to benefit themselves in any way,” he wrote. “They both believed at the time they were making the right decision based on the totality of the circumstances that were presented.”
Petito and Laundrie were on a cross-country trip when she vanished in August, and was reported missing on Sept. 11 — 10 days after Laundrie quietly returned to his parents' Florida home without her — prompting a search through the Wyoming wilderness where authorities believe she was last seen.
Laundrie was named a person of interest in her disappearance on Sept. 15, andPetito’s body was later foundin Grand Teton National Park on Sept. 19. She wasstrangled.
Around the same time, Laundrie’s family said hewent missing, and his remainswere locatedOct. 20 in Florida’s Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park.
Laundrie was never charged with Petito’s death or disappearance, and a suspect for those crimes has not yet been named.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go tothehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
source: people.com
