Commissioner calls for outside investigation of Wichita teen’s fatal restraint

Sedgwick County Commissioner Lacey Cruse is demanding a stronger response from city and county leaders in the aftermath of Cedric “CJ” Lofton’s death.

She wants to hire an outside investigator or ask the U.S. Department of Justice to review Lofton’s death, she said.

“Unprecedented change is not appointing another task force,” Cruse said Tuesday. “This mental health crisis has now taken the life of a child, and it’s time to take whatever steps necessary to ensure no other child dies at the hands of the government.”

17-year-old Lofton died in September after he was denied entry to his foster home, arrested and restrained by four county detention officers in the prone position for nearly 45 minutes. Police had been called out of concern he was having a mental health crisis.

Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said last week that he would not file criminal charges against any of the city and county employees involved. But documents and videos show a series of questionable decisions by authorities in the leadup to Lofton’s death, as well as contradictions in the DA’s report.

Wichita police officers who detained Lofton and delivered him to the juvenile intake center were interviewed by investigators with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. County corrections employees were interviewed only by the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office, the district attorney said.

At a county press conference less than a week after Lofton’s death, Bennett and Sheriff Jeff Easter would not comment on the conduct of city or county law enforcement or corrections staff. Easter said Lofton “may have ingested some illegal narcotics prior to the 911 call.” A toxicology report showed Lofton had no drugs in his system that contributed to his death.

Cruse said an impartial and independent outside examination by experts with access to all relevant records would ensure its findings are credible.

Wichita and Sedgwick County leaders said a community task force will have nearly absolute freedom to make recommendations in an “end-to-end” review of Lofton’s handling by authorities. But the group will not have access to the full record in the case or witnesses.

“This group cannot do this work with redacted statements, zero access to personnel files and no clear direction as a place to start,” Cruse said. “Systemic issues did not happen in three months and systemic change won’t occur in three months. Cedric Lofton’s life deserves a second look. The circumstances of his life and his death at a county facility deserve an outside (and neutral) review.”

Cruse’s comments followed a joint city-council news conference Tuesday where the Wichita City Council and Sedgwick County Commission announced the task force. She did not speak at the conference.

For the next three months, the group will review the circumstances surrounding Lofton’s death — from his Department for Children and Families foster care to his arrest by Wichita police and the use of force at the county’s Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center. They will present a final report of recommendations for city, county and state agencies.

“We will recognize the death of Cedric Lofton was a heartbreaking death and a tragic circumstance that occurred within our community. Our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to the family of Mr. Cedric Lofton,” Sedgwick County Commission Chairman David Dennis said.

“As a local government, we are accountable and transparent to our community. The county and city are here today to inform the community that we will work together to do what it takes to support, drive and dedicate the resources needed to make sure that something that is as tragic as Cedric’s death does not happen to any youth again,” Dennis said.

Wichita City Council and Sedgwick County Commission leadership announced the members and goals of the task force at a joint news conference Tuesday. The group 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.

But it is likely to heavily rely on gatekeepers from the state, county and city agencies that oversaw decisions in events before Lofton’s death for information. The task force will not have access to personnel records, subpoena power or the authority to interview the government employees involved in the fatal restraint, County Manager Tom Stolz said.

The task force includes “support members” Officer Paul Cruz, a spokesman for the Wichita Police Department; Steven Stonehouse, of the Sedgwick County Department of Corrections; Hope Cooper, with the Kansas Department of Corrections; and Christine Peterman, with Kansas Department for Children and Families.

Commissioner Sarah Lopez, the other Democrat besides Cruse on the five-person board, indicated that she would not support Cruse’s proposal at the news conference.

“We really want this task force to focus in on what the county commission and the city council level can do,” Lopez said. “Anything beyond that is just — it’s outside of the scope of our authority, and we want to make sure that what we’re doing is actually what we have the ability to do and change.

“If we go outside of that, I worry that it could muddy the waters, and we won’t get as much done.”

The task force announced Tuesday will look at potential policy changes for Wichita police, Sedgwick County juvenile corrections and the Kansas Department for Children and Families.

On Monday, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly ordered a Kansas Department for Children and Families investigation into the private foster agency whose care Lofton was in.

Task force members are Larry Burks, Sr., NAACP – Wichita Branch; Lillian Rivera, NAACP – Wichita Branch; Mike Fonkert, Kansas Appleseeed; Holly Osbourne, St. Francis Ministries; Valerie Leon, St. Francis Ministries; Marquetta Atkins, Destination Innovation; Jazmine Rogers, Progeny; April Terry, Kansas Advisory Group on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; Steve House, Juvenile Defense Counsel; Shantel Westbrook, COMCARE; Lamont Anderson, CORE (Community Operations Recovery Empowerment); Rhonda Lewis, community partner; Poncho Bustos, USD 259; and Monique Garcia, community partner.

To read Cruse’s full statement, click here.