FBI already reviewing Lofton’s death; county supports task force sending letter to DOJ
READ MORE
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.
Expand All
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is already reviewing Cedric Lofton’s death at a county-run juvenile intake facility last September, Sedgwick County Commission Chair David Dennis said Friday.
“I just got off the phone with the sheriff, and he informed me that the week of the death of Cedric Lofton, the FBI, who works for the Department of Justice, requested all information regarding this case,” Dennis said Friday morning at a special board meeting.
“Sedgwick County provided everything that they asked for and will continue to do that,” Dennis said.
Commissioner Sarah Lopez moved that commissioners provide their own letter indicating support for the community task force’s plan to ask the DOJ to “review whether federal crimes involving civil rights violations occurred in the circumstances surrounding” Lofton’s death.
The motion passed 4-1 over Commissioner Jim Howell’s objection to supporting a letter that has not yet been written. Howell also questioned whether sending such a letter was within the task force’s purview.
“The goal of the task force is to make recommendations for improvements and changes to the existing system standards and performance of Department of Children and Families, law enforcement and youth corrections programs,” Howell said.
“What this letter actually is doing is asking for the DOJ to look for criminal charges, or to look for potential criminal violations and to seek criminal charges. That doesn’t seem to fit the purpose of the task force, so I question this letter from the task force as being their very first action.”
At Thursday’s inaugural task force meeting, Jazmine Rogers, a representative from the juvenile justice reform organization Progeny, said policy changes won’t ensure accountability on their own.
“I think if we make all of our policy recommendations but there’s no criminal charges for those responsible, it means that this could still happen again,” Rogers said. “Sending a letter to the DOJ to encourage them to bring forth whatever charges or open a new investigation would be very important to getting justice for CJ (Lofton) specifically.”
Commissioner Lacey Cruse, who was the first county official to call for an independent investigation, strongly supported the DOJ letter.
“I’ve been calling for it from the very beginning because it’s the right thing to do,” Cruse said. “A child died in our custody. It’s the right thing to do to take another look.”
FBI spokesperson Bridget Patton told The Eagle she could not speak to the scope of the bureau’s review into Lofton’s death.
“We are aware of the matter and have been in contact with area law enforcement,” Patton said. “At this time, I would not be at liberty to provide any additional comment.”
Howell said that since the FBI is already reviewing the case, sending another DOJ request likely wouldn’t effect much change. He said a citizen’s grand jury is the “right way to go.”
A grand jury, which could be ordered by a judge, a prosecutor, or by citizen petition, would impanel 15 vetted community members to review evidence.
Cruse said if a citizen’s grand jury is convened, a special prosecutor should be brought in to deliver the investigation’s findings.
“Like I’ve said, it can all be done. All of it,” Cruse said. “This investigation, the police change, a look at systematic change — it can all be done simultaneously.”
The task force, which was assembled jointly by Sedgwick County and the city of Wichita, can take no binding action on behalf of either governmental body.
County Manager Tom Stolz said last week that the task force won’t have access to personnel records, subpoena power or the authority to interview the juvenile corrections employees who restrained the teen face-down for nearly 45 minutes.
Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett announced last month that the county employees were immune from prosecution under Kansas’ “stand your ground” self defense statute.
County Counselor Mike Pepoon said federal investigators would not be interpreting state law.
“The FBI and the DOJ could look into civil rights criminal violations, hate crimes, that sort of thing, like they’ve done in other cases,” Pepoon said.
“They will not be looking at whether or not anybody violated any of the statues that Marc Bennett was looking at. It would have to be a separate federal law that they’re looking at.”
This story was originally published February 4, 2022 at 1:24 PM.
