5 corrections workers who restrained Wichita teen before he died remain on paid leave

The five Sedgwick County corrections staff who fatally restrained 17-year-old Cedric “CJ” Lofton in a Wichita juvenile intake facility last September remain on paid administrative leave, according to a county spokesperson.

“We will be reviewing their status over the next several days and will make a determination on a timeline for returning to work,” spokesperson Nicole Gibbs told The Eagle Thursday.

District Attorney Marc Bennett announced Tuesday that no criminal charges will be brought against the corrections employees who kept Lofton face-down for as long as 39 minutes during an extended struggle early on Sept. 24.

Lofton went into cardiac arrest due to lack of oxygen and died at a hospital two days later.

Bennett determined that the corrections staff were acting in self-defense and therefore “immune from prosecution as a result of Kansas’s robust stand your ground law.”

“This conclusion is not a reflection of this office’s approval of what happened to Cedric Lofton on September 24, 2021. This should never have happened,” Bennett said.

On Tuesday, Sedgwick County Corrections Director Glenda Martens called Lofton’s death a tragedy but said “employees acted well within the policy and the requirements of that policy” when they restrained the teen.

At the same press conference, Martens announced a community advisory task force that will review the circumstances of Lofton’s death and make policy recommendations.

County officials say footage from within the juvenile intake facility, which has been kept from the public up to this point, is currently being redacted and will soon be released. Wichita police body cam footage from Lofton’s arrest was released Tuesday.

This story was originally published January 20, 2022 at 2:49 PM.