Warren v. District of Columbia (1981)
An earlier case holding police had no specific duty to protect individuals from harm, even after multiple calls.
DeShaney v. Winnebago County (1989)
The Supreme Court ruled the state has no obligation to protect individuals from private violence unless the state creates the danger or takes custody, setting a precedent that police don't have to protect citizens from private harm.
Castle Rock v. Gonzales (2005)
This case reinforced DeShaney, finding police had no constitutional duty to enforce a restraining order and protect a woman from her estranged husband, as she wasn't in custody.
In the spring of 2012, Joseph Lozito, who was brutally stabbed and "grievously wounded, deeply slashed around the head and neck", sued police for negligence in failing to render assistance to him as he was being attacked by Gelman.
On July 25, 2013, Judge Margaret Chan dismissed Lozito's suit, stating that while Lozito's account of the attack rang true and appeared "highly credible", Chan agreed that police had "no special duty" to protect Lozito.