Wichita activists call for DA to recuse himself from case of teen who died in custody

Roughly 25 activists gathered Monday morning at the Sedgwick County Courthouse to demand accountability after 17-year-old Cedric “CJ” Lofton’s in-custody death was ruled a homicide by the county medical examiner last week.

Activists called for District Attorney Marc Bennett to recuse himself from the case and appoint a special counsel to determine whether anyone involved with Lofton’s death should face criminal charges.

“As a result of the lack of actions taken in regards to this case, and having a history of not prosecuting law enforcement, the community has lost faith in Marc Bennett as district attorney,” reads an open letter penned by activists with the Community Empowerment & Resilience Coalition.

In an email, Dan Dillon, a spokesperson for the district attorney’s office, said there is “no basis under Kansas law for the office of the district attorney to pursue a recusal” in the Lofton case.

Bennett said in a statement last week that his office is reviewing more than 90 pieces of evidence in the case, including interviews, transcripts and surveillance videos from within the county’s Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center, where Lofton had been restrained face-down for as long as 39 minutes when staff noticed he had no pulse.

In his statement, Bennett emphasized that the homicide finding in the autopsy report does not necessarily mean his office will have grounds to pursue criminal charges.

“Whether or not criminal charges can be brought is a separate, legal determination to be made by the Office of the District Attorney based on the laws of the State of Kansas and the evidence collected by law enforcement,” Bennett’s statement said.

Activists were also critical of Bennett’s appearance at a county press conference six days after Lofton’s death, where Sheriff Jeff Easter said the teen sustained only minor injuries and speculated that use of illegal narcotics might have contributed to his death.

At the press conference, Easter and Bennett both refused to answer questions about the involvement of county corrections staff in Lofton’s death, citing the open investigation by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

Sedgwick County Commissioners Lacey Cruse and Sarah Lopez both attended the rally outside the courthouse Monday. They told The Eagle they couldn’t discuss their confidence in Bennett and his office’s ability to prosecute the case.

Bennett said in last week’s statement that he expects his office to make a decision on charges in January.

This story was originally published January 3, 2022 at 1:44 PM.