Riss v. City of New York, 22 N.Y.2d 579 (1968) p198.

Subject:

Duty: governmental entities

Linda Riss was terrorized for six months by Pugach who had formerly dated her. After receiving threats from him she sought police protection, but was refused the protection. She became engaged to another man and at a celebratory party she received a call saying this was her last chance. She again sought police help but was refused. The next day a thug hired by Pugach through lye in the plaintiff’s face, leaving her permanently scarred, blind in one eye, and with little vision in the other.

None mentioned.

Can a municipality be held liable for failure to provide special protection to a member of the public who was repeatedly threatened with personal harm and eventually suffered dire personal injuries for lack of suck protection?

Individual police departments should decide their own allocations. Police departments do not need to provide protection to individual citizens.

Cannot hold a police department liable for failure to provide protection.

Courts are not in a position to decide how the limited police resources of the community should be allocated. The amount of protection that may be provided is limited by the resources of the community and by a considered legislative-executive decision as to how those resources may be deployed.

Dissent: Fear of financial disaster is a myth. Municipalities have never gone bankrupt in the past when they have had to respond in damages to other types of cases. Police should act as a reasonable person would under the circumstances in deciding whether or not to provide protection. The price for the refusal to provide for an adequate police force should not be borne by Linda Riss and all the other innocent victims of such decisions. Municipalities cannot escape liability for damages caused by their failure to do even a minimally adequate job of it.