Page 125 - Original 2020 Legal Guide By Jack Ryan

Task: Duty to Protect Citizens

DeShaney v. Winnebago County, 489 U.S. 189 (1989).

Law enforcement officers, like all government actors, generally have

no duty under the constitution to protect citizens from harm caused

by third party, non-government actors.

• Law enforcement officers have an obligation to protect citizens who

they have taken into custody because in depriving the person of

liberty, officers have also deprived the individual of the ability to care

for him or herself.

©2020 Jack Ryan Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute 124