TOPEKA, Kan. – The death of a young black man after wrestling with staff at a Kansas juvenile center is a homicide, according to an autopsy report released Monday that contradicts with previous preliminary findings that the teen suffered no life-threatening injuries.
The report said 17-year-old Cedric Lofton’s heart and breathing stopped after he was handcuffed while lying on his stomach. Lofton was briefly incarcerated at the Sedgwick County Juvenile Intake and Evaluation Center in Wichita when his conflict with staff occurred on September 24. He was taken to a local hospital and died two days later.
“The family lost their son and brother, so it was just a tragic death,” said Andrew Stroth, one of the attorneys representing the Lofton family and a civil rights attorney in Chicago. and absurd”. “The family will continue to seek answers and pursue all available legal remedies.”
The employees involved in the struggle have yet to be identified, but they said they are on paid administrative leave. Sedgwick County Attorney Marc Bennett released a statement saying his office was reviewing the autopsy report, along with a “prolonged investigation” by the local sheriff’s office and the Bureau of Investigation. check Kansas.
“It is my opinion that Cedric Lofton died of complications from cardiopulmonary arrest following a physical struggle while confined to the prone position,” Chief Medical Officer Timothy Gorrill wrote in the report. “The way of death is murder.”
Stroth and Steven Hart, another Chicago attorney representing the Lofton family, urged Bennett to pursue criminal charges. Stroth’s company focuses on representing the families of those injured or killed by police.
“Between the video evidence we’ve reviewed and the autopsy, it’s clear this young man was killed for no reason,” Stroth said.
The autopsy report said that juvenile center staff were “unable to determine a pulse” four minutes after they handcuffed Lofton.
Gorrill wrote that Lofton’s subsequent treatment at a local hospital was complicated by hypoxic brain injury, as well as respiratory failure and “acute kidney injury”. Lofton also tested positive for COVID-19.
The report also says that testing of Lofton’s urine was “positive” for chemicals found in marijuana. The report is dated December 21.
Sheriff says Lofton’s injuries are not life-threatening
The county issued a statement saying its officials could not comment because of the “active investigation.” Sheriff Jeff Easter said at a news conference on September 30 – four days after Lofton’s death – that preliminary autopsy results showed Lofton only had scratches and bruises, not serious injuries. to life.
The autopsy cited reports from authorities that Lofton had fled the foster home on September 21, then was “erratic and aggressive” towards his adoptive parents when he returned. returned early on September 24. The KBI said Wichita’s police responded to a call. of a disturbance, meets Lofton outside a house and tries to get him in for psychiatric treatment.
The 5-foot-10-tall, 135-pound Lofton resisted police, assaulted one or more officers, according to the autopsy report, and he was taken to a juvenile center and placed in a cell at 2:45 am. The autopsy report said. According to KBI, staff at the center let him out of his cell at 4:20 a.m. – to use the restroom. Lofton was “uncooperative and agitated” and punched an employee in the head, according to the autopsy report, leading to struggles with multiple employees.
Progeny, a partnership that pushes Kansas to stop incarcerating young offenders and instead expand community programs, called Lofton “a young person in crisis.”
“We cannot continue to fail our youth in Kansas by leaving them without anyone to call during a mental health crisis, and we cannot let another young person lose their life when they just need help. “, it said in a statement.
The autopsy report said that after a brawl with juvenile center staff began, Lofton’s ankles were shackled, he was “moved to the floor” and lying on his stomach. , and he continued to struggle before being handcuffed. The autopsy report said Lofton then “calmed down, making occasional snoring noises”. One minute after the pulse could not be found, officers began chest compressions and called emergency personnel, shortly before 5:15 a.m., the report said.
