3 ms·

Police in the U.S. have no legal duty or obligation to defend anyone from any threat.

• rayiner 11y ago
  "Duty" is a legal term of art which refers to the circumstances under which negligence can give rise to a tort lawsuit. Police don't have a "duty" to defend anyone from any threat in the same way that teachers don't have a "duty" to teach your kids--i.e. you can't allege they negligently failed to act and sue for damages. But the fact there is no duty for the purposes of an action in tort doesn't mean there isn't an institutional obligation and other mechanisms of accountability.