This podcast is an intriguing and rather sobering investigation into the landmark cases that have defined what the police must do. It turns out, in order to broadly protect us all from living in a police state with severe punishment for everything, surprisingly, the police have no duty to protect you from imminent harm. Unless four (almost never true) conditions are met - you ask them to help, they perceive the threat is real, they agree to help, and you change your behavior as a result of knowing that they will help.
It's also an extension of the fact that citizens are not legally required to help someone in need when they're passing by - it might be heroic or morally right to help them, but not legally in that you wouldn't have to cover their damages.
As they explain, certain people have a "special relationship" with you so that they are legally bound to protect you - like a hotel owner, a transit organization when you're their passenger, or a cab driver. So they're legally bound.
So in the contemporary angst about what the "police role" is and whether we should fund them, there isn't any fundamental specific guide or charter describing what they're legally bound to d. This surprising absence is distinctly different than the entire rest of the government like the FDA, FAA and so on.
No comments:
Post a Comment