-Caveat Lector- ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- Date sent: Thu, 07 Oct 1999 14:33:35 -0600 Dial 911 and Die By Richard W. Stevens Review by Sarah Thompson, M.D. Recent events have focused many people's attention on violent crime. Many people are upset that not a single teacher at Columbine High was prepared to do anything to stop a couple of homicidal and suicidal teenagers. Even more people are outraged that the police sat outside for several hours while innocent students were murdered. Some people wonder why vicious bigots choose places like Los Angeles and Chicago to go on murderous rampages, or why mentally ill criminals are set free to commit further crimes. The answers can be found in a new book by Richard Stevens. _Dial 911 and Die_ is a book that will open your eyes - and possibly even save your life, or the life of someone you love. It should be required reading for anyone who doesn't realize that he has primary, if not sole, responsibility for protecting and defending himself. And it's a wonderful resource for those of us who have accepted that responsibility in the face of overwhelming hostility from the uninformed and politically correct. The premise of the book is simple: the police and the government have, with few exceptions, absolutely no responsibility to protect you, and no responsibility to arrest or incarcerate criminals. You're on your own, and if you depend on the police, you do so at your own risk. Stevens, a practicing attorney, cites cases from every state in the nation, as well as Canada and Puerto Rico, to illustrate this concept. Each case is carefully documented, with a complete citation, as well as an explanation of the laws involved. The cases are shocking and horrifying. If a prospective murderer calls the police and tells them when and where he plans to murder someone, do they have any duty to intervene to prevent the murder? No. Do the police have the obligation to arrest someone who repeatedly violates a domestic violence protective order? No. Can the police ignore an emergency call for assistance in order to do paperwork? Yes. Do the police have the obligation to respond to a 911 call for help? No. What if they promise that "help is on the way"? Do they then have an obligation to respond? Still no. If the police witness a crime in progress, must they intervene to protect the innocent? No again. If a police officer attacks an innocent person, may he be held liable for criminal assault? In most cases, no. As one California court wrote: "police officers have no affirmative statutory duty to do anything." The basis for this is the legal principle of "sovereign immunity", which means that government is immune from liability and has no financial or other responsibility for its actions. Essentially, government and its agents are above the law and may violate it at their own discretion. Another problem is the doctrine of "public duty", i.e. that the police have the duty to protect the "general public", but not the duty to protect individuals. This is in the best tradition of "newspeak" since by definition, the "general public" _excludes_ each and every individual person. For all practical purposes, the police have the duty to protect everyone but the person or persons who need their assistance. Even in the case of riots and civil disturbances, which would seem to fall under the "public duty" rule, the police usually have no duty to protect the affected people or their property. Focusing on liability can be misleading however, and Stevens frequently reminds the reader of this. Even in the rare instances where crime victims retain the right to sue the state for inadequate, negligent or malicious police services, suing the state is a very lengthy and expensive process. And no amount of money can adequately compensate victims of violent crime, or their grieving parents, spouses or children. The more libertarian and anarchic may respond "So what? I don't want or expect the government to protect me; I can do it myself." But can they? While government has no duty to protect people, or even to prevent crime and apprehend criminals, it has arrogated to itself the power to disarm them. Government, especially in crime-ridden cities such as Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles, prohibits citizens from defending themselves, or even possessing the means to do so, while simultaneously refusing to accept responsibility for those it has rendered defenseless. It can, and will, prosecute and imprison courageous, responsible people simply for defending their own lives! (This is the only real "weakness" of the book. I wish Stevens had included cases where citizens were prosecuted for daring to be responsible for their own lives and property.) While _Dial 911 and Die_ focuses primarily on sovereign immunity for law enforcement failures and inadequacies, it illustrates other disturbing problems as well. Just as police have no duty to respond to 911 calls, emergency medical services and fire departments also have no duty to respond to pleas for assistance. Paramedics have no responsibility to respond to calls from sick or injured people and fire departments have no obligation to put out fires. Courts have no duty to process papers correctly, prisons have no duty to actually keep dangerous criminals imprisoned, and mental hospitals have no duty to treat or hold even the criminally insane. Yet all of us are forced to pay taxes to support these services, even though they may refuse to provide anything in return. Only government can get away with willfully refusing to provide the services for which it's paid. Like many city-dwellers who have learned that the police are rarely around when needed, I have an alarm system in my home. Should my alarm go off, the alarm company would certainly be liable if it failed to respond because "everyone was at lunch". Yet the police have no duty to respond. I also have a fire extinguisher in my home. If a fire started and the extinguisher malfunctioned, I could sue the company for damages. But the fire department can choose to let my house burn with impunity. If a doctor in an emergency room refused to treat a patient with chest pains, he would almost certainly be sued - unless, of course, it happened at a government hospital. But paramedics have no duty to respond to 911 calls. Isn't it interesting that a person is a "responsible citizen" if he keeps a cell phone, a fire extinguisher, and a first aid kit handy, but is presumed to be a criminal if he keeps a loaded firearm available for self-defense? Yet all are essentially tools for responding to emergencies that threaten life, limb, or property, and all should be held in the same high regard. Even if a person is willing and prepared to accept responsibility for protecting himself and his family, there are limits to what he can do. Maybe he can repel, or disable, criminal predators. But can he put out a fire by himself? Can he adequately treat a heart attack, broken neck, or other serious medical problems himself? What about people who aren't physically or mentally capable of using a firearm? Should they be abandoned to violent predators? _Dial 911 and Die_ is a compelling argument for restoring the individual right of self-defense. But it's also a compelling argument for reforming, if not revoking, the legal doctrines of "sovereign immunity" and "public duty", or for privatizing emergency services. Have you ever encountered uninformed advocates of gun control who insist that, "No one needs a gun because the police will protect you"? Have you tried to educate such people by pointing out that guns save far more lives than are lost to accidents and murder, only to have them respond with, "Name one!"? If so, _Dial 911_ will also prove to be an invaluable resource. Stevens includes an excellent section explaining various legal doctrines as well as legal terms such as duty, liability, immunity etc. He also explains legal citations so that you can locate and explore the cases and statutes he discusses in more depth. And because the cases are organized by state, it's easy to find your state laws, and find actual cases to share with legislators and other government officials. In addition, the book includes forty-five stories, drawn from newspaper reports, of armed civilians who successfully defended themselves or others from violent criminals. Considering how rarely newspapers report such incidents, this is a prodigious research effort in itself! If you don't keep a firearm for self-defense, "Dial 911 and Die" should convince you to do so. If you already are prepared to defend yourself, this book will provide you with the ammunition you need to preserve, or restore, your right to do so. Buy a copy of _Dial 911 and Die_ for yourself. But more important, buy copies for friends and relatives who still believe the police will protect them. If it saves just one life, it's worth it! _Dial 911 and Die_ is available from Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JPFO), http://www.jpfo.org/dial911anddie.htm. © 1999 Sarah Thompson, M.D. Permission is granted for reproduction, individual distribution or posting of this column as long as no changes are made, full attribution is given and this message is left intact. If you have questions, please contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] Thanks very much to all of you who wrote with comments about "An Open Letter to American Jews" and especially to all of you who took the time to write to the American Jewish Congress. I've received so much mail that I'm unable to respond to everyone individually. I'm embarking on a grand experiment - switching my computer from Windows to Linux. This means I'll be without a computer for a while, and then will have some downtime while I install, debug, and learn new software. Some email will undoubtedly get lost, the next column may be late, and I'll probably be even slower than usual responding. Please be patient. Thanks! (And if you're a Linux expert willing to answer questions or offer advice, please let me know!) Feedback is, as always, encouraged. Use the address [EMAIL PROTECTED] for all correspondence regarding this column. My e-mail is filtered, so I cannot guarantee that mail sent to another address will reach me. Bulk-mail is screened by my assistant, so please don't add me to mailing lists without permission. Remember that ALL COMMENTS WILL BE CONSIDERED FOR ATTRIBUTION UNLESS YOU SPECIFICALLY REQUEST CONFIDENTIALITY. Due to the volume of mail I receive, I'm unable to respond to all e-mail. I will however _read_ all comments provided they are sent to the correct address and are civil in nature. 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