# Is there a legal duty to assist an officer? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 30, 2007, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-legal-duty-to-assist-an-officer/410057 "2007-06-30T18:11:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2007, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-legal-duty-to-assist-an-officer/410057/1 "2007-06-30T18:11:12Z")
I was half watching one of those cop show where a cop was struggling trying to arrest a person. There were people standing around and watching, but none of them offered any assistance. The announcer made a comment that sounded like “these bystanders ignored their duty to assist the cop in subduing the arrestee”. As I said, I wasn’t really concentrating on the show, but the comment caught my attention. Was that statement correct? Generally speaking, does a bystander overseeing an officer in need have a legal duty to assist the officer other than perhaps summoning other officers. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2007, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-legal-duty-to-assist-an-officer/410057/2 "2007-06-30T19:29:18Z")
[QUOTE=Morgenstern] I was half watching one of those cop show where a cop was struggling trying to arrest a person. There were people standing around and watching, but none of them offered any assistance. The announcer made a comment that sounded like “these bystanders ignored their duty to assist the cop in subduing the arrestee”. As I said, I wasn’t really concentrating on the show, but the comment caught my attention. Was that statement correct? Generally speaking, does a bystander overseeing an officer in need have a legal duty to assist the officer other than perhaps summoning other officers. [/QUOTE] I can’t answer with any authority. But to my knowledge, only people trained and licensed to do so can participate in an arrest. I wouldn’t be suprised if “assisting” in an arrest when you don’t yourself have a badge could lead to assault charges! -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2007, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-legal-duty-to-assist-an-officer/410057/3 "2007-06-30T19:31:02Z")
[QUOTE=Frylock] I can’t answer with any authority. But to my knowledge, only people trained and licensed to do so can participate in an arrest. I wouldn’t be suprised if “assisting” in an arrest when you don’t yourself have a badge could lead to assault charges! -FrL- [/QUOTE] Wikipedia, however, says otherwise: > [@Citzien's Arrest](#): > > [edit] United States > All states other than North Carolina permit citizen arrests if a felony crime is witnessed by the citizen carrying out the arrest, or when a citizen is asked to help apprehend a suspect by the police. The application of state laws varies widely with respect to misdemeanor crimes, breaches of the peace, and felonies not witnessed by the arresting party. Note particularly that American citizens do not have the authorities or the legal protections of the police, and are strictly liable before both the civil law and criminal law for any violation of the rights of another.[6] > > North Carolina General Statutes do not provide for citizen arrest, but instead provide for detention by private persons.[7] These statutes apply both to civilians and to police officers outside their jurisdiction. Citizens and police may detain any person who they have probable cause to believe committed in their presence a felony, breach of the peace, physical injury to another person, or theft or destruction of property. The key distinction between an arrest and a detainment is that the detainee may not be transported without their consent. It also has information for other countries. Nothing here about whether you’re _required_ to assist, but you are apparently at least _permitted_ to assist. -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2007, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-legal-duty-to-assist-an-officer/410057/4 "2007-06-30T19:34:04Z")
This makes me want to write a scene in which a couple of “average joe/jane” types are trying to execute a citizen’s arrest, and during the whole process, while the hapless half-subdued arrestee looks on, keep looking up stuff on Wikipedia to make sure they get it right w.r.t. Miranda Rights etc. It’s comedy gold I tell ya! -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2007, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-legal-duty-to-assist-an-officer/410057/5 "2007-06-30T19:47:07Z")
You are not required to assist an officer. If you choose to assist, and are injured, the city and the department are not liable for your injuries and will not help you. An officer can order your assistance, but because of liability issues, I dont think they ever would/do. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2007, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-legal-duty-to-assist-an-officer/410057/6 "2007-06-30T19:58:08Z")
[QUOTE=Bear\_Nenno] An officer can order your assistance, but because of liability issues, I dont think they ever would/do. [/QUOTE] But is one legally obligated to comply? ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2007, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-legal-duty-to-assist-an-officer/410057/7 "2007-06-30T20:28:00Z")
If the officer requests the assistance, the persom is legally obligated to comply. Neglecting the officer or refusing to help is a crime. But, like I said, there are liability issues and department SOPs that discourage an officer from making such a request. ETA: _As always, any laws I talk about are in reference to Florida statutes only. Laws in other states may (and probably do) vary._ ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2007, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-legal-duty-to-assist-an-officer/410057/8 "2007-06-30T20:33:52Z")
It’s probably a bad idea to just jump in. The struggling officer may misinterpret your intentions, and when backup shows up to find two civilians and an officer in a melee there may be a certain amount of overreaction. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2007, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-legal-duty-to-assist-an-officer/410057/9 "2007-06-30T20:42:50Z")
[QUOTE=Morgenstern] I was half watching one of those cop show where a cop was struggling trying to arrest a person. There were people standing around and watching, but none of them offered any assistance. The announcer made a comment that sounded like “these bystanders ignored their duty to assist the cop in subduing the arrestee”. As I said, I wasn’t really concentrating on the show, but the comment caught my attention. Was that statement correct? Generally speaking, does a bystander overseeing an officer in need have a legal duty to assist the officer other than perhaps summoning other officers. [/QUOTE] It doesn’t appear from what you said here that the police requested assistance. Thus, the commentator was wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2007, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-legal-duty-to-assist-an-officer/410057/10 "2007-06-30T20:50:09Z")
I dont know, but I suspect in England that it is not required by law to assist a police officer in the restraint of a criminal ,but that said if you didn’t and you weren’t old .a kid or pregnant your peers might be a bit offish with you. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2007, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-legal-duty-to-assist-an-officer/410057/11 "2007-06-30T22:53:47Z")
[QUOTE=Lust4Life] I dont know, but I suspect in England that it is not required by law to assist a police officer in the restraint of a criminal ,but that said if you didn’t and you weren’t old .a kid or pregnant your peers might be a bit offish with you. [/QUOTE] I can’t find a cite, but a few years back there was someone prosecuted for failing to comply when an officer raised a Hue and Cry. IIRC he got off because he would have had to leave his young children unattended. **Bear\_Nenno** , why are police departments so leery about liability? Surely it’s to their longer-term benefit to assume the short-term liability? Knowing that the State will look after you - or your dependents - would be a powerful reassurance. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2007, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-legal-duty-to-assist-an-officer/410057/12 "2007-06-30T23:26:46Z")
[QUOTE=Quartz] **Bear\_Nenno** , why are police departments so leery about liability? Surely it’s to their longer-term benefit to assume the short-term liability? Knowing that the State will look after you - or your dependents - would be a powerful reassurance. [/QUOTE] If you were walking by and an officer was in a struggle with a very large, drug-raged criminal, and the cop said “You there! Assist me!”. He has now given you a lawful command and it would be a misdemeanor for you to refuse. So you run over to join the brawl and you end up with a broken arm, a broken nose. Your 800 dollar suit is ruined, and your $2000 dollar rolex is in pieces. On top of all that, the criminal got away. You subsequently sue the city and the department for all your hospital bills, pain and suffering, lost wages from your broken arm, etc etc. It might be in _their_ longer term benefit. But to what benefit is it to YOU? It’s their job to keep you safe and out of danger. Not to order you into fights that leave you injured. Imagine if you were ordered to help and were KILLED? Talk about liability. . . ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2007, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-legal-duty-to-assist-an-officer/410057/13 "2007-06-30T23:52:30Z")
Whatever happenned to sovereign immunity? I thought the police department could pretty much run around making bad decisions that would get civilians killed all day long and you couldn’t sue them… state’s laws, state’s courts, right? Do municipalities not get that? ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2007, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-legal-duty-to-assist-an-officer/410057/14 "2007-07-01T00:16:57Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Slant] Whatever happenned to sovereign immunity? I thought the police department could pretty much run around making bad decisions that would get civilians killed all day long and you couldn’t sue them… state’s laws, state’s courts, right? Do municipalities not get that? [/QUOTE] Departments get sued all the time for the poor decisions of their officers. Hell, we even have threads on the lawsuits all the time. The IHOP incident comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2007, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-legal-duty-to-assist-an-officer/410057/15 "2007-07-01T00:25:52Z")
Here’s a relevant staff report that I wrote a while back: [http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mcommandeer.html](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mcommandeer.html) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2007, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-legal-duty-to-assist-an-officer/410057/16 "2007-07-01T00:35:45Z")
[QUOTE=Bear\_Nenno] Departments get sued all the time for the poor decisions of their officers. Hell, we even have threads on the lawsuits all the time. The IHOP incident comes to mind. [/QUOTE] Yeah, I realized that. Hopefully we’ll have a lawdoper speak to that sooner or later in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2007, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-legal-duty-to-assist-an-officer/410057/17 "2007-07-01T00:36:04Z")
[QUOTE=Bear\_Nenno] Departments get sued all the time for the poor decisions of their officers. Hell, we even have threads on the lawsuits all the time. The IHOP incident comes to mind. [/QUOTE] You can’t just throw away a line like “The IHOP incident” without a link now! ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2007, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-legal-duty-to-assist-an-officer/410057/18 "2007-07-01T00:39:01Z")
Thank all of you for responding to this question. I’m all for helping the authorities, but I’m not real keen on suffering financial damages for doing so. Here is hoping it the situation never arises. Thanks again. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2007, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-legal-duty-to-assist-an-officer/410057/19 "2007-07-01T00:44:00Z")
[QUOTE=Bear\_Nenno] It’s their job to keep you safe and out of danger. [/QUOTE] I’m sorry I don’t have an elecctronic cite for this, but I remember reading in the _L.A. Times_ after the 1992 riots that the Supreme Court ruled that police forces to not have a specific obligation to protect citizens. The decision could have been _Deshaney v. Winnebago County_, but I don’t know if that’s the case or if it was another. ---
**Author:** ![Commodore\_Penguin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@Commodore\_Penguin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Commodore_Penguin)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2007, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-legal-duty-to-assist-an-officer/410057/20 "2007-07-01T02:19:03Z")
What? No _Seinfeld_ reference yet? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-legal-duty-to-assist-an-officer/410057.md?page=2)