Death of Black Teen Handcuffed in Custody Now Ruled a Homicide

[Jilly_in_VA]

The death of a Black teenager who lost consciousness after being handcuffed and restrained at a juvenile detention center in Kansas has been ruled a homicide, according to an autopsy report released this week.

The findings contradict a preliminary autopsy report which suggested that 17-year-old Cedric Lofton didn't suffer life-threatening injuries prior to his September death while being held at the youth facility.

The autopsy released this week from the Sedgwick County Regional Forensic Center cites a law enforcement timeline and unreleased video of the incident, and paints a disturbing portrait of the final moments of Lofton’s life.

Authorities arrested Lofton in Wichita on Sept. 24 after he began “exhibiting erratic and aggressive behavior toward his foster family,” according to the report. Police then brought the teenager to the Sedgwick County Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center. After Lofton reportedly began fighting with staff at the juvenile center in the early morning hours, the teen's ankles were shackled, he was rolled onto his abdomen, and his wrists were handcuffed behind his back at 5:08 a.m.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxdxqq/cedric-lofton-death-ruled-homicide
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A kid in mental health crisis doesn't belong in juvie

[Hortensis]

1. WaPo article focuses on ANOTHER prone-position death. George Floyd's

asphyxiation was while he was in prone position also.

WaPo: The case is the latest to spotlight concerns about the safety of authorities subduing suspects facedown. The use of the prone position, which can limit a person’s ability to breathe and receive enough oxygen to the heart and brain, ... Multiple medical experts testified for the prosecution that Chauvin’s use of the prone position contributed to the Black man’s death. ...

Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett (R) ... “Contrary to multiple public comments ... the determination that the manner of death was ‘homicide’ does not reflect a legal determination on the part of the pathologist regarding the viability of criminal charges. ... Bennett said the investigation conducted by agents with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office is ongoing. He added that his office anticipates completing its review of the autopsy report by next month. ...

Some experts have pushed back in recent months on long-accepted research among law enforcement that’s 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. ...

The interest surrounding prone position deaths in recent years has intensified after Chauvin’s conviction. ... Seth Stoughton, a former police officer who is now a law professor at the University of South Carolina, told KUSA in May that “once somebody has been restrained, they should not stay in the prone restraint position. It’s difficult to watch officers continue to make the same mistake,” said Stoughton, who testified in Chauvin’s trial.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=&w=691

[Jilly_in_VA]

2. This case is also publicized

in other outlets---USA Today, The Guardian, and I think NPR also. The prone position is criminal.