Myer Phillips, Administrator of the Estate of Gary Louis Phillips, Deceased v. Cheltenham Township and John Ward. Appeal of John Ward

OPINION

In this action we are asked to review a finding of the district court that appellant John Ward, a police officer of Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania, violated the civil rights of Gary Phillips. Ward shot and killed Phillips during an attempted arrest while Phillips was allegedly fleeing the scene of a burglary. The administrator of Phillips’ estate brought this suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for damages on the ground that Officer Ward had deprived the fleeing suspect of life without due process of law. The district court, on the basis of stipulated facts, found that the police officer…