Originally posted on Quora October 20, 2022
Even confidential informants have no individual right to police protection. A New Jersey man on probation learned this the hard way when police recruited him to wear a wire and go undercover for a drug bust and refused to protect him afterwards. As has already been established in previous rulings of Warren v. DC, Castle Rock v. Gonzales, and DeShaney v. Winnebago, police only have a legal duty of care and protection to individuals in state custody; everyone else is on their own. Even restraining orders and the “special relationship” of confidential informant is not a constitutionally protected property interest that would oblige police protection. Because of this precedent, the New Jersey man in question had to acquire a handgun to protect himself from retaliation, which he faced even after moving locations. He was eventually arrested, during a traffic stop, for illegal possession of a firearm (due to his probation status) which resulted in a conviction and mandatory minimum sentence of 4 years behind bars. That conviction was recently overturned by a state appeals court that ruled he met the evidentiary standard of the necessity defense by facing an imminent and compelling threat to his life, even after moving, by being assaulted twice and shot once.