Teen dies two days after being restrained at juvenile intake facility, official says
A Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office official said Monday that a 17-year-old boy who “became unresponsive” after being restrained in a county detention facility died Sunday following a two-day hospitalization.
Col. Brian White said the Kansas Bureau of Investigation is looking into the circumstances surrounding the teen’s death, with the help of the Sheriff’s Office.
An autopsy is being performed to determine exactly what killed the boy. Currently, his cause and manner of death are unknown.
During a Monday afternoon news conference, White said the teen was taken to the county’s Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center and booked by Wichita police on suspicion of three counts of battery of a law enforcement officer following a 911 call on Sept. 24.
The 911 call was made at 1:07 a.m., agency spokesman Lt. Benjamin Blick said by email.
“The juvenile was acting out, and the people that were watching over this 17-year-old needed assistance and called law enforcement for that help,” White said, referring to what led up to the call. The boy was then arrested by Wichita police, White said.
Wichita police spokesman Officer Charley Davidson told The Eagle Monday that the teen was “upright and communicating” when WPD officers left him at the facility.
White said while the teen was in custody at the center, 700 S. Hydraulic, he allegedly assaulted center staff “and was restrained.”
After being restrained, the teen became unresponsive.
White said emergency medical services crews “were summoned” to help the boy and drive him to a nearby hospital for treatment.
The teen died at 1:55 a.m. Sunday at the hospital, Blick said. The boy’s name was not released Monday.
White said the teen was restrained with both handcuffs and another method, the WRAP system, used to reduce self-harm and increase safety during his contact with Wichita police and intake center staff. But he had been out of the latter for a while by the time he lost consciousness, White said.
White said the investigation into the death will be presented to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office after it’s complete.
But right now, “we’re in the early parts of this investigation,” he said.
This story was originally published September 27, 2021 at 4:12 PM.
