[adamclayman]

Not quite true, but thought-provoking.

"The role of the police is to preserve a range of disorder that is enshrined in law, and thereby prevent violence against and stagnation of persons, properties, and cultures," would, I venture, be a nearer approximation of the truth.

[innguest]

But the police have no duty to protect anyone:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/28/politics/28scotus.html?_r=...