Moab City Police Department announced that they will launch an independent investigation into their officers' handling of a domestic dispute between Brian Laundrie and Gabby Petito a month before she was found dead.
The City of Moab, Utah confirmed that they will ask an outside organization to conduct a formal investigation into how the police department responded to the incident on August 12. They spoke out two days after a body found last weekend in Grand Teton National Park was confirmed to be Petito, with a coroner ruling her death a homicide.
City officials released a statement on Thursday which said they were 'unaware of any breach of Police Department policy.' They noted that 'individuals can view the same situation in very different ways' and 'recognize how the death of Ms. Petito more than two weeks later in Wyoming might lead to speculation, in hindsight, about actions taken during the incident in Moab.'
That statement noted that their 'police officers have been both praised and criticized for their response and their resolution of the incident.'
Cops were filmed discussing what had happened with Petito and Laundrie after being called out by onlookers who reported seeing him hit her.
They found Laundrie with scratches to his face, with Petito claiming she'd hit him with a phone while battling her OCD. Officers deemed her to be the 'primary aggressor' and separated the couple for the night to try and defuse the tension between them, but neither were arrested.
That has subsequently triggered allegations that investigating the incident more deeply might have saved Petito's life, although other's have countered by hailing the cops' calm handling of the couple.
Moab City Police Chief Bret Edge explained in a statement provided to Fox News on Thursday that a request for an investigation into the department's handling of the incident was requested by an outside party.
Moab City Police Department and the City of Moab an investigation into officers' handling of a domestic dispute between Brian Laundrie and Gabby Petito a month before she was found dead in Wyoming
Police bodycam footage revealed the moment Utah cops asked missing 'van-life' woman Gabby Petito why she slapped her boyfriend Brian Laundrie in a dramatic incident 13 days before she disappeared on their cross-country trip
Laundrie is seen with scratches on his face which he tells an officer were caused when Petito 'was trying to get the keys from me' and 'hit me with her phone'
He said the department will 'identify an unaffiliated law enforcement agency to conduct the formal investigation on our behalf.'
'Should the investigation identify areas for improvement we will take that information to heart, learn from it, and make changes if needed to ensure we are providing the best response and service to our community,' Edge added.
The recorded encounter began after a chilling 911 audio captured a caller in Utah reporting a domestic abuse incident involving Petito and Laundrie that claimed Laundrie slapped her.
In the audio, obtained by DailyMail.com, the male caller tells a Grant County sheriff that a 'gentleman' in a white van with a Florida license plate had slapped a girl in the vehicle before driving away.
The man also mentions the incident had happened 'by Moonflower' - likely referring to the Moonflower Community Cooperative in Moab, where Laundrie and Petito stayed the night of August 11 and where they reportedly were seen having an explosive fight.
'I'm right in the corner of Main Street by Moonflower and we are driving and I'd like to report a domestic dispute. Florida with a white van - Florida license plate, white van,' the man says before being interrupted by the officer, who asks him what he saw exactly.
'They just drove off. They're going towards Main Street. They made a right onto Main Street from Moonflower. We drove by him, a gentleman was slapping the girl,' the man continues.
'He was slapping her?' the sheriff asks.
'Yes. And then we stopped. They ran down an up the sidewalk. He proceeded to hit her, hopped in the car and they drove off,' the man says as the audio ends.
When an officer asks Petito if her boyfriend hit her, she replies 'I guess' and gestures to her chin. Petito admits he 'pushed her' during the altercation
Moab police officers separated the couple for the night after responding to the 911 call. The City of Moab said they are 'unaware of any breach of Police Department policy' in their handling of Petito and Laundrie's domestic dispute
Shortly after the call at 4:30 pm, Petito and Laundrie were filmed in police bodycam
