UPDATED 4:45 p.m. Feb. 5.
A federal jury awarded $8.3 million dollars Wednesday to the family of 17-year-old Cedric "CJ" Lofton, who died in police custody in 2021.
Attorneys for Lofton’s family said in a statement that they believe this judgement is the largest civil rights verdict in the history of Kansas and the third largest verdict in Sedgwick County’s history.
The verdict came at the end of a two-week trial and nearly five-year attempt by Lofton’s family to show that local officers were liable for the teenager’s death.
“I love my brother and when you see me, you see him,” Lofton’s brother, Marquan Teetz, said in a statement. “I think about CJ every day and want to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else.”
Court documents and evidence released by local law enforcement officials show that a mental health call made by Lofton’s foster parent in September 2021 quickly escalated.
Wichita Police officers called to Lofton’s foster home decided to take him to the Sedgwick County Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center, or JIAC, instead of a mental health facility.
Lofton was brought to the center in a restraint. He was placed in a holding cell while Wichita Police and county officers decided whether to process him into the facility. Wichita police eventually left, and Lofton was let out of the restraint and holding cell.
An argument broke out between Lofton and JIAC officer Jason Stepien near the intake booth. Stepien pushed Lofton against a wall and called for the assistance of JIAC officer Brenton Newby. Newby and Stepien pulled Lofton back into a holding room, shackled him and then pinned him on to the floor of the room in the prone position.
JIAC officers Karen Conklin, William Buckner and Benito Mendoza came into the room and took turns holding Lofton to the floor. He was held in the prone position for 39 minutes before they realized he was not breathing.
The officers performed CPR on Lofton until EMS workers arrived and took him to a local hospital. He was pronounced dead at the hospital two days later.
The Sedgwick County medical examiner eventually ruled Lofton’s death a homicide, finding that he died due to “complications of cardiopulmonary arrest sustained after physical struggle while restrained in the prone position.”
Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett announced in January 2022 that he would not file criminal charges in Lofton’s death. Bennett said at the time that his review of the case led him to believe that the JIAC officers “acted in self-defense under Kansas law” and that “they are immune from prosecution as a result of Kansas’s robust stand your ground law.”
Teetz filed a civil lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Kansas in June 2022. The civil lawsuit alleged that county workers used excessive force in Lofton’s death. It also claimed that neither Wichita Police nor JIAC officers were trained how to handle teens in crisis.
Early versions of the civil rights complaint listed Sedgwick County, Wichita and seven Wichita police officers as defendants, along with the five JIAC officers. The claims against Sedgwick County and the city of Wichita were dismissed in November 2023. A federal judge granted the Wichita police officers’ claims of qualified immunity in July 2024.
That left the five JIAC officers as defendants in the jury trial.
After nearly 14 hours of deliberating, the jury found that Newby, Conklin and Buckner subjected Lofton to a “prolonged prone restraint” while he was not meaningfully resisting. It also found that all of the officers — except Mendoza — violated Lofton’s civil rights by using excessive force against him. All of the officers were found to have failed to intervene and stop the use of excessive force.
The jury awarded Lofton’s family $1 million for Lofton’s physical pain and suffering, $1 million for his mental and emotional suffering, $1.3 million for the loss of future earnings and $5 million for the loss of Lofton’s capacity to enjoy his life.
Lofton’s family decided to drop its claims for punitive damages after officers testified they were not trained on the prone restraint or its dangers.
Attorneys representing Teetz called the judgement a “historic outcome” that spoke to Teetz’s “commitment to honor the life and legacy of his brother.”
“Too often we see officers turn a blind eye towards other officer misconduct, often in the context of excessive force,” John Marrese, an attorney from Hart McLaughlin & Eldridge, said in a statement.
“This verdict reinforces the constitutional duty that when officers have the opportunity to prevent a constitutional wrong, they must intervene and stop it.”
Supporters of the Lofton family and community advocates reignited a call for training and policy reforms even before the jury verdict was announced.
During public comment at the Sedgwick County Commission meeting Wednesday morning, Wichita resident and former mayoral candidate LaWanda DeShazer urged the county to fire the JIAC officers and pursue new policies at the juvenile facility.
“We cannot have people in there that have been accused,” DeShazer said. “No matter what the court says, they were part of something that killed someone. You can't get away from that.”
Sedgwick County officials said in a statement that it “respects the judicial process.”
“Sedgwick County continues to follow its values in integrity and service to the people,” the statement said. “We respect the judicial process and are reviewing the verdict, awaiting the finalization of court proceedings and discussing next steps.”
