In Euell v. Incorporated Vil. of Hempstead , even though he was injured in a fire he supposedly set, Lawrence Euell sued the Village of Hempstead claiming emergency personnel violated a duty to protect him.
Euell, who reportedly suffered from mental illness, was hallucinating and delusional when the police arrived at his home and his mother informed the officers that Euell had ingested an entire bottle of pills. Although officers attempted to restrain Euell with a taser, he escaped to his bedroom, set it afire, and was later arrested and indicted for arson.
After Euell's personal injury suit was filed, the Village moved to dismiss the case. When the Nassau County Supreme Court declined that request, an appeal to the Appellate Division, Second Department, followed.
The AD2 couldn't find a basis to hold the Village liable for the incident -- particularly since there was no indication Euell intended to set his room ablaze and thus no way for the officers to anticipate the harm that would occur. (Absent a special relationship and no promise of police protection, the case was doused.)
Try not to fester on that.
To download a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please use this link: Euell v. Incorporated Vil. of Hempstead