Generally, if law enforcement fails to protect their citizens in any dangerous situation, they are not held liable for their actions, or lack of. However, the legal doctrine of state created danger is the only exception in such cases. According to the state-created danger legal doctrine, a law enforcement officer can be held liable for any death or injury that occurred because of any danger created by that officer. If the police or officer did something in a way that was obvious to bring harm or danger to a person, then that officer or police will be held liable for the harm that befell on the affected party.
The legal doctrine is founded on the idea that if the police or officer had acted in a responsible manner, then the individual or individuals would not have become victim of the increased danger. Moreover, in case of the legal doctrine of state created danger, the party affected does not have to be in police custody for the doctrine to apply, as is the case with the “special relationship” doctrine.
When a case is evaluated under the legal theory in court, the court will usually assess two things:
The court will also determine whether the police left the plaintiff in a situation which was made more dangerous by their actions than the situation they were in before police encountered them.
A number of tests have been established to determine whether the legal doctrine exception applies. Several conditions have to be met by the plaintiff as required by the Third Circuit:
The following have to be proven or shown in the Sixth Circuit test in case of the legal doctrine of state created danger:
The Tenth Circuit test requires the following conditions to be met:
Some obvious examples of state created danger is when a police officer lets a drunk driver go without arresting them, and the driver then causes harm to other people on the road. Similarly, leaving a vulnerable individual on the road, without getting proper transportation for them which could result in them being hurt or injured is another example of state created danger.
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