Support letter for DOJ investigation of Lofton’s death rejected for lack of a second

Sedgwick County Commissioners on Wednesday rejected a proposal to send a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice supporting a city-county task force’s request for a civil rights investigation into the arrest, detention and death of Cedric “CJ” Lofton.

At issue was a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland from the Sedgwick County Taskforce to Review Youth Corrections Systems Standards asking the federal law enforcement agency to open an investigation into whether the Wichita Police Department, Sedgwick County Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center and Kansas Department for Children and Families engaged in a pattern and practice of civil rights violations, “including but not limited to the death of Cedric Lofton.”

Commissioner Lacey Cruse asked the commission to send its own letter to the DOJ supporting the task force it created. But her motion died for lack of a second, meaning no other commissioner agreed it should be put to a vote.

Commission Chairman David Dennis said the commission supports the task force’s goal of developing “recommendations for improvements and changes to the existing system standards and performance of the Department for Children and Families, law enforcement and youth corrections programs.”

The county commission also called a special meeting to affirm their support for the task force and a review of the case by the DOJ. But he said he could not support a letter calling for a federal investigation of the county.

“When we voted, we voted to support a review,” Dennis said.

“It was our intention as a board to support the task force in a DOJ review and not jump immediately into an investigation,” Dennis said. “In talking with the sheriff, an investigation before a review is out of sequence in any criminal or civil matter. I am hopeful that the task force can now focus on the review and recommendations of system standards and improvements for our youth corrections programs, law enforcement and DCF after the tragic death of Cedric Lofton.”

“Our role with this task force is to allow them independence to work without any interference or influence from the commission,” Dennis said.

The task force was created to review Lofton’s death and recommend policy changes to the state, county and city governments after District Attorney Marc Bennett announced he would not pursue criminal charges against any of the corrections staff who restrained Lofton at the Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center last September.

The agencies involved have met with the task force to talk about general policies and practices but have refused to discuss the specifics of Lofton’s case.

Lofton, a 17-year-old Black foster child, had been showing signs of mental illness for weeks before he was reported as a runaway from his foster home when he did not get on the school bus on September 23.

When he returned to his east Wichita home in the early morning hours of September 24, his foster father called Sedgwick County 911 and reported that Lofton was having a mental health crisis. He requested a police escort for Lofton to the county’s mental health treatment center or a hospital for a mental evaluation.

Instead, after failing to convince Lofton to voluntarily leave the foster home, Wichita police forcibly removed the teen from the porch of his foster home. After a brief struggle, police bound Lofton in a wrap restraint system and transported him to the Sedgwick County Juvenile Intake Center, where he was booked on suspicion of battering law enforcement officers.

At the county juvenile facility, the wrap system was removed and Lofton was allowed to roam around the lobby area.

A JIAC employee and juvenile detention officer attempted to physically escort Lofton back into a holding cell, but Lofton again resisted physical restraints and struck one of the employees in the face. In response, four county employees held Lofton face down in a holding cell for nearly 45 minutes.

At some point while being held down in the prone position, Lofton lost consciousness from a lack of oxygen and went into cardiac arrest.

Lofton’s death was determined to be a homicide by the county medical examiner. But Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett declined to file charges against the county employees involved, saying they acted in self-defense under the state’s “Stand Your Ground” law.

Commissioner Jim Howell said he feels the county has missed out on an opportunity to lobby for state law changes this session by waiting for the task force to complete its work some time in April.

“I’m sure there are state laws that probably played into this situation, and we lost an opportunity to address those state laws because we were more focused on talking to the DOJ regarding the request for an investigation,” he said.

“We can’t go back and unwind the past,” Howell said. “It is what it is. But we can learn from that. . . . We can learn from what happened, and we can spring forward to things that need to be addressed and things that can be improved.”

Commissioners Pete Meitzner, who dropped his support for the letter last week, and Sarah Lopez, who helped organize the task force, did not comment on Cruse’s proposal.

After the commission meeting, Cruse criticized her colleagues for their inaction.

“Words with no action is called lip service,” she said. “This task force was designed and started by the county. They were told they would be able to do what they needed to do and those efforts would be supported. Now they were told by the silence of my colleagues that they are not supported.”

Cruse said the county should find an outside group, besides the task force, to take “a dedicated look” at the circumstances surrounding Lofton’s death.

“As committed as this task force is, we all know that they are not going to be able to change a system designed to protect a system in 90 days with limited access and now limited support from the people who put this together in the first place,” she said.

This story was originally published March 9, 2022 at 3:13 PM.