MEAWW.COM / NEWS / CRIME & JUSTICE

Eric Pratt: Police officer who messed up Gabby Petito traffic stop receives applause from Moab PD

The photo of Pratt 'mentoring' young men was released after Gabby Petito's family filed a wrongful death suit against him and his Moab PD colleagues

MOAB, UTAH: Moab cop Eric Pratt, accused of not properly handling a domestic violence call against Brian Laundrie that apparently led to Gabby Petito’s death, has now been commended by the police department. The Moab City Police Department gave a shoutout to the officer despite him being sued by the travel vlogger’s family. Petito's parents had recently shared a photo of her covered with bruises on her face, which was shot just before the traffic stop.

Taking to Facebook in January, the police department released a photo of Pratt and wrote, “We caught Detective Pratt playing basketball with some young men he is mentoring on his own time. Many of our officers spend their own time helping to better our community, but Det. Pratt definitely sets the bar high for the rest of us. Great job!”

ALSO READ

'The Murder of Gabby Petito: What Really Happened': What happened to case between Petitos and Laundries?

Gabby Petito case: 5 things you MUST know about her mysterious disappearance

‘The people of Moab deserve better’

Pratt is reportedly one of the cops included in the $50 million wrongful death lawsuit filed by Nichole Schmidt and Joseph Petito after they lost their daughter in August 2021 while she was on a cross-country road trip with her boyfriend, Brian. In their filing, the family has alleged that Moab police did not “properly train the officers to investigate domestic violence situations, and to properly assess the circumstances, including to identify Brian as the true primary aggressor.”

As reported by The Sun, the suit also added, “[Gabby was] attempting to take the blame for the fight because she had hit Brian first and did not want to be separated from him. Whether for lack of training or refusal to follow their training, the officers did not press further.”

Now, about the recent applause of Pratt by the department, Brian Stewart, the lawyer representing the Petito family, told The US Sun, “If he has not been terminated yet, it is overdue. The people of Moab deserve better. It might be more useful for Moab PD to post the details of the internal affairs investigation so people can see how low the bar really is.”

‘This makes me want to cry all over again’

Meanwhile, the release of Gabby’s photo to the public has once again broken people’s hearts as many took to Twitter to express their thoughts. A user wrote, “Omg this breaks my heart. This poor girl could’ve been saved that day 😭.” Another user tweeted, “This makes me want to cry all over again. Anyone who's been through DV could see how terrified she was of him during that Moab police interaction. RIP Beautiful Gabby ❤️.”

The third one shared, “This poor child was failed on way too many levels.  I sincerely hope the Petito/Schmidt family get the the justice they all deserve ❤️.” “As a parent of a daughter around Gabby’s age, this  photo fills my with such heartache and rage that nothing was done to help her. Utterly devastated for her family. Poor angel. May you rest in peace, 😢💔” the fourth one added.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.