Originally Posted By: robertcope
The police are not a protection service like a bodyguard.
Originally Posted By: Astro14
The police have a duty to the public, not to individuals. The police exist to keep the peace, solve crimes, and deter crime. They cannot ever be held to a standard of stopping crime in progress. That would require them to be everywhere at once. Sadly, the fantasy that the police will protect you is pervasive. A convenient rationalization that allows people to abdicate their personal responsibility for their own safety, or worse, advocate denying others the means to provide for their own safety.
You both are correct; perhaps more so than you believe. And it's not just LEOs, but most any governmental service, such as social work, etc.
There are multiple SCOTUS decisions specifically defining the limits of protective obligations.
https://www.supremecourt.gov/default.aspx
Warren v. District of Columbia
DeShaney v. Winnebago County
Castle Rock v. Gonzales
etc
The only time there is a specific
duty (obligation) for LEO protection is if it's mandated by law (such as protection of POTUS, etc), or persons who are "in custody" (inmates/prisoners, mental subjects, etc). Officials can choose to extend protection (such as witness protection, etc), but they are not required to do so. Persons in custody can sue if they are not reasonably protected, because they have no means to defend themselves, and so the controlling entity (DoC, Jail, mental facility, etc) must provide for their safety and well being.
Other than that, you're on your own.
And I probably get asked of this topic at least once a year while on duty; the answer surprises many.
When seconds count, the cops are only minutes away, and have no duty to protect whatsoever.