Seventh Judicial District Judge Don Torgerson on Wednesday, Nov. 20, ruled that the Moab Police Department could not be held accountable for the murder of Gabby Petito due to the Government Immunity Act of Utah, which protects officers from liability.
The judge did not grant the MPD’s request to dismiss the case on causation, ruling that any role MPD officers might have played in Petito’s murder is “fact intensive.”
Wording his decision in a manner that would give Petito’s parents, Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt, the plaintiffs in the case, an avenue to appeal his ruling, Torgerson said the “plaintiffs have made a prima facie case that Moab’s officers’ conduct here could have been a cause of death, but not necessarily the cause of death.
“I don’t think anyone is surprised [with my decision],” said Torgerson. “I’m more comfortable with the [Utah Court of Appeals] making this decision.”
The murder of Petito, a 22-year-old burgeoning social media influencer, at the hands of her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, occurred in Wyoming roughly a month after Moab Police officers interacted with the couple following a reported incident of domestic violence that occurred outside of a local market.
The officers’ actions, or lack of actions, led to an investigation that was conducted by Capt. Brandon Ratcliffe with the Price Police Department, who determined officers committed multiple violations of state law and department policies.
Whether any of them caused Petito’s murder is a matter of speculation and the Price detective also determined the officer’s errors were unintentional.
“There are many what ifs, primarily would Gabby be alive today if the case were handled differently. Nobody knows and nobody will ever know,” wrote Ratcliffe in his report.
Mitchell Stephens, an attorney representing MPD, cited several case law precedents regarding causation, but his argument rested primarily on the time that transpired between the Aug. 12, 2021, domestic violence incident and Petito’s murder in a Wyoming forest on Sept. 13 of that year.
Judson Burton, representing Petito’s parents through the Salt Lake City-based law firm Parker & McConkie, argued that Petito at some point during the incident called her parents in Florida and they “insisted she come home.” Petito, said Burton, told her parents that police were handling the situation and her parents relied on police.
“That reliance was misplaced,” Burton said. “They were grossly negligent and actually elevated the risk to Gabby.”
Burton said police laughed when Laundrie called Petito crazy. “They could have emboldened Brian.”
Burton also quoted comments Moab Police Detective Eric Pratt made, saying he was “surprised” by the officer’s candor. The comments in question regard Pratt’s experience as a law enforcement officer when it comes to domestic violence and the potential outcomes of cases. “He understood the risks, foresaw the risks.”
While Torgerson left the issue of causation — did Moab officers’ actions directly lead to Petito’s murder — up to the Utah Court of Appeals, he did not have any reservations ruling on the question of whether those officers are protected by the Government Immunity Act of Utah, which has been in place since 1965.
While Burton cited cases dating back to 1854, nearly 50 years before statehood, and argued that a 1995 case cited by MPD attorneys “should be overturned,” Stephens noted the history was “intriguing,” but that “now is not the time … because [Torgerson] is bound by existing law.”
Indeed, the court, said Torgerson, is “mandated to follow the law. I’m bound by stare decisis [a legal doctrine that requires judges to follow previous court decisions].”
While attorneys for Petito’s parents argued that the Government Immunity Act of Utah applied only to state agencies, Torgerson determined that the Moab Police Department and the City of Moab are government subdivisions of the state. “The court finds … existing case law extends protection to MPD and the city,” said Torgerson. They are government entities performing government duties.”
Brian Stewart, also an attorney for Parker & McConkie, previously told The Times-Independent he expected Torgerson to rule the way he did and that an appeal would be filed on behalf of Petito’s parents.
Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt “remain committed” to seeing the case through the appellate process. They released the following statement following the Nov. 20 hearing: “While the ruling today may feel like a setback, it was not unexpected. We never anticipated that this would be an easy process and look forward to the Utah Supreme Court upholding the Utah Constitution’s original intent to preserve the right to recover for wrongful death claims under these circumstances. We remain committed to pursuing justice for Gabby and thank the many people who have continued to support us in that fight.”
