City cites Cedric Lofton task force as reason police can’t answer questions about him
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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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A city spokesperson says Wichita police are right to remain silent amid new scrutiny of how they interacted with 17-year-old Cedric Lofton on Sept. 24, the day he was fatally restrained at a county-run juvenile intake facility.
Police would interfere with work being done by a joint city-county task force looking into Lofton’s death if they answered questions about the teen, city spokesperson Megan Lovely told The Eagle.
“We recognize residents’ interest in this tragic event, but it would be inappropriate at this time to respond to specific questions about the incident with partial information until the task force has had the opportunity to comprehensively and publicly review all of the facts, video and reports,” Lovely said in an email.
At Wednesday’s Sedgwick County Commission meeting, Commissioner Jim Howell expressed concern that the task force has been used to deflect hard questions.
“This task force now has become an excuse not to comment. I find that very troubling,” Howell said. The Wichita city manager’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Seven hours of police body cam footage show WPD officers’ interactions with Lofton before and after he was transported to JIAC. District Attorney Marc Bennett’s report notes the sergeant who decided not to take Lofton to the hospital had not undergone crisis intervention training.
Lofton’s foster father initially called 911 seeking help for the teen, who he said needed a mental health evaluation. He said Lofton was paranoid and believed people were trying to kill him.
Officers told Lofton they would transport him to Via Christi St. Joseph hospital for help. When he resisted officers’ attempts to take him into protective custody, the WPD sergeant decided Lofton was too combative to go to the hospital for mental health treatment.
Instead, the Black teen was taken to Sedgwick County’s Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center under suspicion of battery.
The Eagle sent a detailed list of questions to Wichita police about officers’ handling of Lofton. The Eagle also asked police about their crisis intervention training and protocols for navigating mental health crises.
Two WPD public information officers and outgoing Chief Gordon Ramsay have not responded to The Eagle’s inquiry, which was sent on Jan. 20.
Lovely emailed back eight days later to say police won’t answer questions that could interfere with the task force, which holds its first meeting Thursday.
“While the Wichita Police Department continues to review policy and consult with law enforcement experts, it is important that we give the task force the necessary time, space, and assistance in encouraging as much public participation as possible in the process,” Lovely said.
Officer Paul Cruz, a spokesman for the Wichita Police Department, is listed as a support member on the joint task force.
Cruz told The Eagle last week that he doesn’t know what his role will be once meetings start.
“I was asked to be on it, so I don’t know what to expect. We haven’t had our first meeting,” Cruz said in a phone conversation before Lovely responded on behalf of the police department.
The task force was announced the same day Bennett said publicly that he would not pursue criminal charges against anyone involved in Lofton’s death.
The task force includes representatives from the county’s mental health agency, Wichita public schools, racial justice activist organizations and others involved in the juvenile criminal justice system.
It will not have access to personnel records, subpoena power or the authority to interview the Sedgwick County employees involved in the fatal restraint, County Manager Tom Stolz said.
At Wednesday’s county commission meeting, Howell became the second commissioner to call for an independent investigation, joining Lacey Cruse.
“I support an outside, independent investigation,” Howell said. “I want to make sure, however, that whatever that process is, they have access to the right data. The evidence must be available to them. Witness testimony, they have to be able to put people under oath.”
Wichita’s police review board canceled its monthly meeting last Thursday. The review board was not scheduled to discuss Lofton, but police reform advocates say they planned to voice their support for an independent investigation that goes beyond the limits of the joint task force.
This story was originally published February 2, 2022 at 12:49 PM.
