(RepublicanView.org) – The father of Gabby Petito, the 22-year-old who became famous for her disappearance and death in 2021, has publicly criticized Utah police who are working to throw out a $50 million lawsuit filed against them over their failure to locate and prevent his daughter’s death. In a filing by lawyers representing the Moab Police Department, the suit was described as a “substitute for a GoFundMe campaign.”
The police department targeted by the suit claim that officers did not fail to act appropriately during their initial interview of Petito on August 21, 2021, just days before she was killed by boyfriend Brian Laundrie. In the suit, Petito’s father claims that authorities failed his daughter by failing to take action sooner.
Petito’s disappearance hit national headlines when she and boyfriend Laundrie publicly documented their cross-country road trip in a converted van. Petito stopped communicating with her family during the trip, which was followed by thousands of social media followers, before her boyfriend returned home without her. On September 19, Petito’s body was discovered in the Bridger-Teton National Forest, Wyoming.
After the department accused Petito’s family of attempting to fund raise off the back of the tragedy, Joseph Petito issued a statement to the nation’s press arguing that the police department “doesn’t get it,” and that the case was “never” about money.
“It has always been about seeking accountability,” the statement reads. Petito also said that establishing change within the police department could save lives in the future.
Petito said that if law enforcement doesn’t “follow the law” and learn from its mistakes, it will put everyone in danger.
The lawsuit filed against the Moab Police Department in 2022 accuses officers of failing to investigate a dispute between Laundrie and Petito in the days before her murder, arguing that the dramatic nature of the fight should have indicated that something was wrong.
In the days before her death, photographs taken by Petito showed her with a bruised and bloodied face. An eyewitness on the day of the fight also claimed to have seen Laundrie slapping Petito, though officers ultimately determined that Petito was the primary aggressor in the fight.
The suit continues and lawyers from Parker & McConkie, who represent Petito’s family, say that they intend to restore the protections intended by Utah’s founders to residents of the state.
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