Recently the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland held that under the public duty doctrine that Police Officers do not have a special relationship with 911 callers.[1]Police Officers owe a duty of care to the public as a whole, and without a finding of a special relationship the individual Police Officer cannot be found liable for torts in their official capacity.[2]

In the early hours of February 19, 2014, Nicole Enoch called the police.[3]Police Officer Ben Crumlin responded to the call but was unable to make contact with Ms. Enoch at her apartment; there was no answer at the door and the door was locked.[4]As a result Office Crumlin left the scene. Several hours later, Ms. Enoch’s body was found outside of the apartment building, dead, apparently the result of either a fall or push from the roof of the building. [5]Ms. Enoch’s mother Ms. Howard, on behalf of her deceased daughter filed suit against Officer Crumlin, alleging negligence and wrongful death. [6]The circuit court dismissed the claims against Officer Crumlin on the ground that the Officer owed no duty to Ms. Enoch enforceable in tort.[7]

The public duty doctrine establishes that duties imposed on public officials that are duties to the public as a whole are unenforceable in tort.[8]That is, unless a party can show that there was a special relationship established between the official and the individual.[9]This doctrine is designed to protect public officials from fear that their discretionary decisions can result in personal liability.[10]In order to show a special relationship between the public official and the individual the individual must show that the Officer “affirmatively acted to protect the specific victim or a specific group of individuals like the victim, thereby inducing the victim’s specific reliance upon the police protection.”[11]The Court of Special Appeals held that no such special relationship exists when Police Officers respond to a 911 call of a person that they have never had contact with before. [12]

This distinction is important because it further insulates the Police from an unnecessary duty of having to make contact with every 911 call that may come through, even if the call is innocuous and a waste of Police Resources. Many jurisdictions are fraught right now with understaffing, violence, and a drug epidemic that has strained resources. Imposing a tort liability for failure to make contact with a 911 caller, even when reasonable means are employed, would result in further strain and would be a disservice to the public as a whole.

Shawn Haught, Jr. is a 3L at the University of Baltimore and will graduate in May of 2019. Shawn is a second year staff editor on Law Forum. Shawn is from Anne Arundel County, Maryland and currently resides there. Shawncurrently works at Hassan, Hassan & Tuchman, P.A. a small personal injury law firm in Baltimore City. 

[1]Howard v. Crumlin,1025, SEPT.TERM,2017, 2018 WL 6191359 (Md. App., 2018)

[2]Id.

[3]Howard v. Crumlin,1025, SEPT.TERM,2017, 2018 WL 6191359 (Md. App., 2018)

[4]Id.

[5]Id.

[6]Id.

[7]Id.

[8]Howard v. Crumlin,1025, SEPT.TERM,2017, 2018 WL 6191359 (Md. App., 2018)

[9]Id.

[10]Id.

[11]Id.

[12]Id.