The bodyguard occupies a legal grey zone. Unlike law enforcement, EPAs have no public duty to act; their authority derives from private property rights and citizen’s arrest statutes.
Unlike standard security guards, EPAs often require intimate knowledge of the principal’s habits, medical conditions, and personal conflicts. This access fosters a unique, asymmetrical intimacy. The bodyguard becomes a confidant, a driver, a travel agent, and a potential last line of defense. This blurring of professional and personal boundaries can lead to dangerous over-familiarity or, conversely, to the “Stockholm syndrome” of the principal becoming dependent on the protector. Bodyguard
The cognitive burden on a bodyguard is severe and understudied. The bodyguard occupies a legal grey zone