Under which circumstance may the Public Duty Doctrine not apply?

The Public Duty Doctrine generally holds that public officials and agencies owe a duty to the public at large rather than to individual citizens. However, if a specific duty is owed to an individual, this doctrine may not apply. This means that when a law enforcement officer or agency has a specific obligation towards an individual, such as during a unique circumstance where assistance is promised or when they assume responsibility for that person's safety, the general protections of the Public Duty Doctrine can be overridden. This creates grounds for potential liability if that duty is not fulfilled or is breached.

The other circumstances, such as issuing a general warning, lacking a connection to the incident, or that the public is not served by the action, do not provide a basis for overriding the Public Duty Doctrine in the same way that a specific duty to an individual does.