John Crumpton, IV v. Daryl Gates Tom Bradley Tom Reddin Ed Davis Herbert Boeckmann Maxwell E. Greenberg Barbara L. Schlei Robert Talcott

John Crumpton, IV, a six-year-old child, brought this civil rights action under 42 U.S.C. section 1983 against Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl Gates and several former police chiefs, current and former members of the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners, various known and unknown Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers, Mayor Bradley, and the City of Los Angeles. Crumpton alleges that the killing of his father by an alleged LAPD “death squad” violated his own constitutional rights. The district court granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment on the ground that, because Crump-ton was a fetus at the time his father was killed, he was not a “person” within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. section 1983 and, therefore, was unable to bring the civil rights claim. We reverse and remand.

BACKGROUND

In his complaint, Crumpton alleges that the LAPD had formed a “death squad,” or “cadre of officers whose mission it was to execute persons targeted for execution by LAPD.” According to Crumpton, from 1966 to the time of the filing of his complaint, this “death squad” followed those persons believed to be criminals who were “escaping the arm of the law in that they were not being…