After a Kansas medical examiner on Monday ruled the death of an unarmed Black teenager in law enforcement custody a homicide, attention has turned once again to a controversial restraint technique that also raised questions after George Floyd\u2019s murder.<\/p>\n
Cedric Lofton, 17, died Sept. 26 in Wichita, two days after police responded to a call that described the teen \u201cexhibiting erratic and aggressive behavior\u201d toward his foster family, according to the autopsy report from the Sedgwick County Regional Forensic Science Center. While in custody at a juvenile detention center, Lofton\u2019s ankles were placed in shackles, his wrists were handcuffed behind his back, and officers rolled him onto his chest \u2014 what\u2019s known as the prone position.<\/p>\n
Lofton lost consciousness at the Sedgwick County Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center and never regained consciousness before he died, the report states.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my opinion, Cedric Lofton died as a result of complications of cardiopulmonary arrest sustained after physical struggle while restrained in the prone position,\u201d Timothy S. Gorrill, the chief medical examiner, wrote in the report. \u201cThe manner of death is homicide.\u201d<\/p>\n
The findings contradicted earlier statements from authorities suggesting that Lofton did not suffer life-threatening injuries. No charges have been filed against the handful of juvenile center employees believed to have been involved in restraining the teen. The employees, who\u2019ve yet to be publicly identified, were placed on paid administrative leave pending the results of the investigation conducted by the Sedgwick County District Attorney\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n
The case is the latest to spotlight concerns about the safety of authorities subduing suspects face down. The use of the prone position, which can limit a person\u2019s ability to breathe and receive enough oxygen to the heart and brain, was highlighted in the case of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of murdering Floyd in May 2020. Multiple medical experts testified for the prosecution that Chauvin\u2019s use of the prone position contributed to the Black man\u2019s death. The defense presented research that prone restraint does not lead to death.<\/p>\n
Steven Hart, a Chicago attorney representing Lofton\u2019s family, told The Washington Post that authorities \u201cshould know from the Floyd case alone\u201d that the prone position can increase the level of risk when someone is in custody.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what\u2019s equally disturbing. Authorities can\u2019t plausibly suggest that putting someone in prone position is a safe thing to do,\u201d Hart said. \u201cIt\u2019s a conscious disregard for safety \u2014 and their life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pastor Maurice W. Evans, the spokesman for Lofton\u2019s parents, put it more bluntly: \u201cThis position is used to submit an animal. It\u2019s not how you handle a human being.\u201d<\/p>\n
Officials with the Sedgwick County Department of Corrections, the officers\u2019 employer, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.<\/p>\n
In a statement to The Post, Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett, R, pointed to research from the National Association of Medical Examiners referencing how \u201cdeaths due to positional restraint\u201d don\u2019t necessarily come with an \u201cintent to kill.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cContrary to multiple public comments since the release of the autopsy report prepared by the Sedgwick County Regional Forensic Science Center, the determination that the manner of death was \u2018homicide\u2019 does not reflect a legal determination on the part of the pathologist regarding the viability of criminal charges,\u201d Bennett said in a written statement. \u201cWhether or not criminal charges can be brought is a separate, legal determination to be made by the Office of the District Attorney based on the laws of the State of Kansas and the evidence collected by law enforcement.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bennett said the investigation conducted by agents with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Sedgwick County Sheriff\u2019s Office is ongoing. He added that his office anticipates completing its review of the autopsy report by next month.<\/p>\n
Officials with the Sedgwick County Department of Corrections, the officers\u2019 employer, declined to comment and shared Bennett\u2019s statement in an email.<\/p>\n
Some experts have pushed back in recent months on long-accepted research among law enforcement that\u2019s concluded that prone restraint is safe. In October, Alon Steinberg, chief of cardiology at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura, Calif., published a paper for the National Institutes of Health that found that fatal police violence is frequently misclassified, and that previous studies have given authorities a reason to excuse the actions of their officers.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are dying all the time, and we\u2019re not doing anything about it,\u201d Steinberg, who has been a consultant in cases against police officers, told The New York Times in October. \u201cI want to shout it out to everyone: Let\u2019s stop this right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
The interest surrounding prone position deaths in recent years has intensified after Chauvin\u2019s conviction. A joint investigation by KUSA in Denver and KARE in Minneapolis last year found more than 113 police prone restraint deaths since 2010, which brought about wrongful death payouts totaling $70 million in taxpayer money. Seth Stoughton, a former police officer who is now a law professor at the University of South Carolina, told KUSA in May that \u201conce somebody has been restrained, they should not stay in the prone restraint position.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s difficult to watch officers continue to make the same mistake,\u201d said Stoughton, who testified in Chauvin\u2019s trial.<\/p>\n
Eugene O\u2019Donnell, a former New York City police officer who is now a lecturer at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said the challenges surrounding policing have heightened because of waning interest from potential recruits, the inadequate time needed to train officers and the limited physical capacity for officers to take on intense custody situations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are frequently overmatched,\u201d O\u2019Donnell told The Post. \u201cThe cops themselves that are frequently involved in using force, when you ask them what they\u2019re doing they don\u2019t know what they\u2019re doing. They\u2019re doing the best they can, that\u2019s what they\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked about why fatal instances such as Lofton\u2019s, where the prone position is used, are still happening, O\u2019Donnell replied: \u201cI\u2019m surprised it doesn\u2019t happen more often. We\u2019re lucky it doesn\u2019t happen more often.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lofton ran away from his foster care home Sept. 21 before returning around midnight Sept. 24, according to records. It\u2019s unclear why Lofton ran away, but Hart said the teen was in \u201ca mental health crisis.\u201d Upon returning to the foster home, Lofton exhibited \u201cerratic and aggressive behavior,\u201d according to the autopsy report.<\/p>\n
Police planned to take Lofton to a \u201cbehavioral health unit\u201d at a nearby hospital, the autopsy says, but that changed when the teen allegedly \u201cassaulted one or more of the officers.\u201d Instead, authorities took him to the Sedgwick County Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center, where he was charged with four counts of battery on a law enforcement officer, according to county officials.<\/p>\n
After more than 90 minutes in a cell, Lofton was brought to the lobby of the facility at 4:20 a.m. When Lofton became \u201cuncooperative and agitated\u201d and two staff members tried to restrain him, the teen punched one of the employees in the head, according to the report.<\/p>\n
At that point, \u201cadditional staff members\u201d got involved in detaining Lofton and shackling his ankles, according to the report, which cited video footage of the incident that\u2019s not been made public. As he continued to struggle, Lofton was placed face-down and handcuffed at 5:08 a.m., records show. Lofton reportedly \u201ccalmed down\u201d and then \u201cmade occasional snoring sounds,\u201d the autopsy states.<\/p>\n
But when officials went to check on him just four minutes later, he did not have a pulse. Staff members started chest compressions and called emergency services to help Lofton regain consciousness. He was pronounced dead at a hospital two days later.<\/p>\n
The autopsy also found that Lofton, who Hart said weighed 135 pounds \u201csoaking wet,\u201d had tested positive for the coronavirus.<\/p>\n
Evans and Hart said Lofton\u2019s family is pushing for all evidence to be released to the public. Hart said authorities triggered \u201ca cascade of errors\u201d that eventually led to the teen being placed in the prone position.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat type of threat was that child? Why would they put him the in prone position?\u201d he said. \u201cThey literally suffocated this kid.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evans noted that \u201cthe level of heartbreak has been indescribable\u201d for the family over the past few months. He remains infuriated over how the 17-year-old died.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want this to be glossed over as him dying in the prone position. They violently beat and killed a child, let\u2019s not sugarcoat it,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a crime against humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n