New Body Cam Footage of Gabby Petito: She Claims Brian Grabbed Her Face, Scratched Her

Gabby Petito told a Utah police officer that Brian Laundrie hit her during their August 12 dispute in Moab, but then quickly walked it back and said he actually grabbed her face after she hit him first.

New bodycam footage from a second police officer sheds new light on the incident, in which Gabby and Brian were separated after cops were called because they were seen fighting in public.

The new video is far more audible than the one released earlier ... and this one provides a much more detailed account by Gabby ... the key moments can be clearly heard.

The officer notices various marks on Gabby -- on her face and her arm, and gently asks what happened.

Listen for yourself -- when the cop asks Gabby bluntly if Brian hit her, she says "I guess, yeah, but I hit him first." She then explains he grabbed her face and demonstrates how his fingernail may have scratched her cheek.

Gabby says Brian did not punch or hit her in the face, though.

As we reported ... two 911 callers did report that Brian struck Gabby's face. However, in the initial police report released a couple weeks ago ... police wrote that both Gabby and Brian claimed that she began slapping him first, and he grabbed her face and pushed her away.

There's another eerie video ... where 2 cops involved in the incident try to determine if it rises to the level of domestic assault, but ultimately seem to decide on the spot that it doesn't.

One of the officers even implies that Brian may be the one at risk of becoming a "battered man" ... but he doesn't think that's the case.