What term describes the failure to use due or reasonable care by an officer that results in harm to another?

• A. Misdemeanor
• B. Nolo Contendere
• C. Negligence
• D. Note-taking

Answer: (C)

Negligence is the failure to exercise due or reasonable care, and when that failure leads to harm, it describes the situation described in the question. A correctional or law enforcement officer owes a duty to act with reasonable care toward others in the line of duty. If the officer breaches that duty—by not taking appropriate precautions, for example—and someone is harmed as a result, the harm can be attributed to negligence. The concept rests on four elements: there’s a duty to act with reasonable care, a breach of that duty, causation linking the breach to the harm, and actual damages from the harm. The other terms don’t fit this scenario: a misdemeanor is a crime, not a failure to exercise care; nolo contendere is a criminal plea; note-taking is unrelated to establishing fault for harm.