OK, I am not a LEO, but I have looked into this before for my own interest, and yes, the government, city, state, or federal, does not have a duty to protect you as an individual.
So to pound a few more nails in....
I see you already found the Kasler writings, which list some of the court decisions that emphasize this. Here's another that lists the first (that I know of) instance where the Supreme Court said there is no duty to protect -- in 1856.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,162325,00.html
This same link discusses the most recent case I know of as well, Gonzalez vs Castle Rock, where her estranged husband violated a restraining order by taking their children without notice and permission, and the police essentially refused to do anything to get the kids back -- until the husband showed up at the police station and started shooting at the cops! They fired back, killed him, then found the three bodies of the children that he had killed previously. She sued, but ultimately no luck.
A detailed description of the incident can be found here, in the first part of the US Justice Deparmtment's amicus brief -- which supported the Castle Rock police department.
http://www.usdoj.gov/osg/briefs/2004/3m ... r.ami.html
Back in the 90's I took a handgun course from a Los Angeles area policeman who had been on duty during the riots related to the Rodney King business. He told us that the police on the street had been ordered to protect the government buildings - only. They were not allowed to intervene when rioters attacked private property.
Gregthehand is right -- if the government did accept responsibility for keeping each individual safe, it would soon go broke (and our taxes would skyrocket) because it is impossible for the government to be 100% successful. (Far less than 100%, I would bet.)
And yet I see all kinds of rules and laws about where I am not allowed to carry a gun to protect myself, but do not see any requiring anyone to protect me instead. That's why I found the attempt by various cities and counties in Texas to bar CHL holders on city/county property (covered in another thread on this site) to be outrageous -- those governments would bar me from protecting myself, would arrest and fine and imprison me if I did, but if I got whacked on government property - oh well! GRRR!
OK, rant over. But the ultimate responsibility for protecting yourself is yours, no one elses. You will suffer the consequences.
elb
btw, I do not want to inadvertently imply that I think cops are unwilling to try to help -- I know a few, very good guys, and I would bet that most cops would do their best to protect people. I would go so far as to bet that deep down, good cops find the thing that makes their careers worthwhile is having the ability, knowledge, and willingness to take risk to protect others from harm, i.e. I doubt their job satisfaction comes from writing a lot of traffic tickets! But the dynamics of the law, resources, and society mean that their possible actions are limited -- they can't be superman to everybody.
elb
