Netflix’s ‘American Murder’ shows how even a woman in uniform let Gabby Petito down
The new Gabby Petito documentary exposes more police failures, with the female officer’s inaction standing out. The female cop in Netflix’s American Murder: Gabby Petito was a bystander, not an advocate. She overlooked Petito’s distress, never asked, “Are you safe?” and upheld a system that ultimately failed the victim.
For anyone who has followed this case closely, the body cam footage from the documentary is painful to watch. The police were called in because a witness saw Brian Laundrie slapping and hitting Petito. By the time officers arrived, Laundrie was the one smiling and calm, while Petito was visibly distressed, crying, and shaking. Despite this, the officers, including the lone female cop, immediately leaned toward viewing Laundrie as the victim.
Even though Laundrie was speeding and initially refusing to pull over, they let him off without so much as a ticket. They didn’t press him on why someone had reported him as the aggressor. They didn’t even seem to consider the implications of a scared, isolated young woman in a controlling relationship. But the biggest failure? Not once did any of the officers, including the female cop, ask Petito if she felt safe.
A woman in uniform who didn’t step up
This isn’t to say that a female officer is automatically obligated to side with a woman in every situation. However, the bare minimum expectation is that she should recognize the signs of distress and advocate for a fair investigation. Instead, she played the role of a passive assistant, a “yes man” who contributed little to the conversation.
At one point in the documentary, the female officer says, “Well, I’d rather do something and nothing come out of it, than do nothing and something does happen.” That statement might have been encouraging, if it had been about protecting Petito. Instead, she was referring to the decision to potentially arrest Petito for domestic violence.
That’s the infuriating part—if Petito had been arrested that day, she could have been placed under a no-contact order and been kept away from Laundrie. Maybe she could have called home. Perhaps she would still be alive today. Instead, the officers let Laundrie go with a hotel stay, while Petito was left in a van, alone, distraught, and afraid.
The unasked questions that could have saved Gabby Petito
Watching the full-length body cam footage, it’s shocking how little effort was made to assess the real danger in this situation. At one point, Petito admitted to slapping Laundrie’s arm. It took over 45 minutes before one officer finally asked Petito, “When you slapped Brian, what were you trying to do?” Until that point, she was on track to be arrested for felony domestic violence.
That question changed everything. It revealed that she was trying to get Laundrie to stop the vehicle for the police. That should have been a major indication for the officers to reconsider their assumptions. Instead, they remained focused on de-escalation rather than investigation.
Again, the female officer remained silent, failing to take the initiative to challenge the direction of the conversation. While every cop in this situation failed, it’s the unfortunate truth that I’m not shocked when I see male officers missing the mark. When I see a woman on a case, it gives me a glimmer of hope, and when it doesn’t pan out I’m almost more upset.
A cop’s has a duty to protect and this cop didn’t
If you’re a woman entering law enforcement, you must understand that your presence carries weight. Women in uniform can advocate for victims in ways that male officers might overlook simply because of lived experience. That doesn’t mean blindly taking another woman’s side—but it does mean listening, recognizing distress, and ensuring proper questions are asked.
In this case, that didn’t happen.
Gabby Petito didn’t slip through the cracks, she was actively let down by the people who should have protected her. While the male officers are absolutely responsible for their failure and have received incredible heat from it, it’s particularly disappointing to see a female cop contribute to that failure by doing nothing.
The new documentary is a brutal reminder that Gabby Petito deserved better. She deserved officers who would take her safety seriously. She deserved, at least, a woman in uniform who would ask her the one question that could have changed everything: Are you okay?
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