Quote:
Originally Posted by BurtReynoldsMoustache
You are aware that the police are not legally obligated to protect individual citizens, yes?
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I've been a cop for ten years. I've been hearing that statement for the past ten years as well. It's a great statement. Very provacative. And like so many one sentence statements it doesn't cover all the details.
Am I legally oligated to protect you? Well yes and no. I (I will refer to myself instead of "The Police") will respond if you call 911 , regardless of the time of day. If I arrive and you are being battered I will make every effort to stop the battering to include putting my life at risk and/or taking another life if that is what is required to stop the crime.
If I arrive on scene and there is an active shooter I and my fellow officers will be the ones going into the building/area while others are going away - very smart I might add. The ones leaving. And please don't refer to Colombine. That was eleven years ago and much has changed since then - because of that inccident. If you would like we can discuss Colombine on another thread.
If you are in an overturned car and there is gas leaking and I'm the first one on scene I will do whatever I can to help you. but I am not a fireman or a paramedic so I don't have their equipment or training. Nevertheless if not taking immediate action means you might die a firey death I'll do what I have to to try to free you - meaning I might die with you.
If I might add a personal experience here. The day before Thanksgiving 2008 I was the first officer to arrive at a bank robbery in progress. There were two armed suspects in the bank with multiple hostages. What did I do? Well I grabbed my shotgun and preceeded to do my best to evacuate the area - all the while knowing there was a bank robbery in progress. I could see the blinds going down in the bank's windows while I was running around in the open telling customers in surrounding businesses to get out of the area. I kept thinking of the 1997 North Hollywood Bank Robbery. But I did my job and I protected the public. Eventually many many more officers arrived (it was 10:00 A.M.) and the two suspects surrendered peacefully with no violence.
Am I telling you this because I want you to consider me to be a hero or that I think of myself as a hero? Nope. I like living and I consider going home at the end of my shift to be one big accomplishment. This is just part of the job. Along with much more mundane stuff.
So yes I am legally and ethically obligated to protect and help. Within all legal means.
However what your statement is referring to (in my opinion) is that I am not legally obligated to be a bodyguard. Yep. you are absolutely on the mark. I am not a bodyguard. I am not an agent of the United States Secret Service. Occassionaly officers might be tasked to serve on a protection detail, but it's very rare. There was a court case a few years ago in Colorado ( I think ) in which a women sued. She was demanding that the police should provide around the clock protection to victims of domestic violence who have protection orders/No Contact Orders. The court said no the police can't and won't do that.
Now some people thought that was wrong. But it wasn't. I work on a 58 man department. Our city has almost 50,000 residents. Care to guess how many people have No Contact Orders or Civil Protection Orders going at any given time in my city alone? I don't have a clue, but it sure in hell ain't less than 500 folks.
Care to tell me how we are going to provide protection for all those people? Where are we going to get the manpower and the money? Hey who here wants to see the sales tax increased to 25% and their property tax increased by 12%? What's that? Oh not just no but HELL NO! By the way one of those voices is mine. I am a tax payer and property owner as well.