Read the officer release form that Wichita police amended to leave Lofton in lockup
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Death of Wichita teen at Sedgwick County facility
Cedric Lofton’s foster father called authorities in September 2021 seeking help because the 17-year-old was hallucinating and needed to go to a mental health facility. Instead, police took him to the Sedgwick County Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center, where he had to be resuscitated after he was held facedown for more than 30 minutes during an altercation. He died two days later.
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The Officer Release to Sedgwick County Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center form is a screening mechanism used to ensure vulnerable teens receive the medical or mental health attention they need before being admitted to the county intake facility.
“No juvenile shall be admitted who shows evidence of being seriously ill, injured, intoxicated or physically or mentally impaired until the juvenile is examined and approved for admission by a physician licensed to practice in Kansas,” reads a Kansas Secretary of State regulation.
Wichita Police Officer Ryan O’Hare initially provided answers on the release form that would have required Wichita police to transport 17-year-old Cedric Lofton to the hospital for a medical/mental health evaluation.
“What I learned after the intake is that the officer had presented this form and initially said yes, that there were signs of acute illness that appear to need immediate medical care. Yes, there were signs of intoxication with significant impairment in functioning,” Jodi Tronsgard, a county corrections administrative manager who oversees JIAC intakes, told the community task force on March 7.
After waffling on another question about whether he had reason to believe Lofton consumed medications illicit drugs that posed a “significant and immediate health risk,” O’Hare took a copy of the release form to another room to confer with other Wichita police officers.
When he returned, he changed his answers and signed the form, attesting that Lofton did not need medical or mental health attention and could be left at JIAC.
Lofton was fatally restrained by county corrections employees after Wichita police left the facility. Corrections staff held the teen face-down on the concrete floor for nearly 45 minutes, JIAC footage shows.
This story was originally published April 10, 2022 at 4:53 AM.
