Should the D.C. Handgun Ban Have Been Overturned?

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On March 16, 1975, three women living in a Washington, D.C., townhouse were awakened by the sound of their back door being kicked in.

Two invaders violently attacked one of the women, who had been asleep on the second floor. They beat and raped her. Her two roommates called the police from the third floor. Assured that help was coming, the women crawled out a window onto the roof, seeking safety.

They saw a squad car slowly drive past. It never stopped. Terrified, the women crawled back into the house. Once more they called the police. Then they hid.

Half an hour passed. The women, hearing no noises downstairs, assumed police had arrived and that they were safe. They went down to the second floor. The rapists were waiting. The three women were beaten and raped repeatedly—for 14 hours. The police never came.

Thankfully, all three women survived. A lawsuit was brought against the D.C. police department. Ruling on their last appeal in 1981, the D.C. Court of Appeals said:  “The duty to provide public services is owed to the public at large, and, absent a special relationship between the police and an individual, no specific legal duty exists.”

In short, the police can’t be everywhere they are most needed. When you’re attacked, it’s between you and the criminal. Law enforcement, despite the best of intentions, and its officers’ dedication, has no legal duty to help you.