Erosion of rights...

[Squiggy]

If a police officers job is to stop crime, why do so many crimes happen? If you are robbed, then why can't you sue the police department for not doing it's job? I smell an ulterior motive in this one, Squiggy...

You can if thier actions or inactions can be poved a contributing factor to the loss incurred.

 

[Gato_Solo]

You can if thier actions or inactions can be poved a contributing factor to the loss incurred.

My bad. I didn't explain that far enough.

A police officer's job is not to stop crime, but to respond to crime and/or deter crime. They cannot be everywhere at once. If you get robbed, and no police officer is there (like the crook is going to wait for the police to be watching), then you cannot sue the police department because a crime was not stopped. Self-defense, whether by lethal or non-lethal means, is your only option at that point. Now...getting back to the original statement using the above scenerio, you cannot sue the police because your crime wasn't stopped. Lethal means, however, are not always the way to defend yourself, and I'll cede that point, but the right to do so I will not cede.