Bond v. Atkinson, No. 11-3275 (7th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CaseBond was shot three times by her husband, who then killed himself. She survived and filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983, acknowledging that the state is not obliged to protect residents from crime but arguing that when the state chooses to provide protective services it cannot protect men while failing to protect women. She claimed that relatives of her husband had informed police that her husband was suicidal and potentially violent; that she reported that her husband had hit her and had acquired an arsenal of guns, some stolen, despite being disqualified from gun ownership; that she had an order of protection; that he was not arrested despite admitting violating that order; that she requested that the sheriff confiscate the guns; and that when he was arrested for domestic battery, her husband was released. The district court denied a motion to dismiss based on qualified immunity. The Seventh Circuit vacated, stating that the fact that officials assessed the risk to bond differently than Bond herself assessed the risk did not establish sex discrimination.
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