Authorities say Kansas teen who died in custody struggled with staff

Authorities say that a Kansas teenager who died in police custody struggled with staff before he was restrained.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) released a statement on Tuesday sharing the circumstances surrounding the death of 17-year-old Cedric “CJ” Lofton of Wichita, who died Sunday after becoming unresponsive after being restrained.

The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office previously acknowledged that a juvenile died after being restrained. 

However, Tuesday’s statement from the KBI officially identified Lofton and provided more insight into what led to Lofton’s arrest.

According to the statement, Wichita Police officers responded to a disturbance call at around 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 24. When officers arrived, they saw Lofton outside of the house and said he was “paranoid and was behaving erratically.” 

After trying to convince Lofton to voluntarily seek mental health treatment, officers attempted to take him into custody. Lofton resisted by assaulting officers and was arrested on four counts of battery of a law enforcement officer after a physical struggle, according to the release.  

Lofton was taken to the Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center in a wrap restraint system, a device used to prevent subjects from hurting themselves. Once there, the device and handcuffs were removed and he was placed in a holding cell.

Lofton was allowed to leave the cell to use the restroom. But when a staffer attempted to escort him back, Lofton assaulted that staff member.

Following a “lengthy physical struggle,” corrections staff were able to get him into the holding cell and place him into handcuffs. Once Lofton was under control, corrections staff were monitoring him and noticed he became unresponsive.

Life-saving measures were initiated, and he was transported to a hospital where additional interventions were attempted.

Lofton was pronounced dead at 1:55 a.m. on Sept. 26. His cause of death is pending further investigation and toxicology results.