A federal judge has ruled that seven Wichita police officers are entitled to qualified immunity in a civil lawsuit over the in-custody death of a teenager.

The lawsuit is over the death of 17-year-old Cedric Lofton, who became unresponsive while being restrained following an altercation at the Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center (JIAC)  in Wichita on September 21st, 2021.  He died at a hospital two days later, and the death prompted a review of policies and practices at the facility, along with the creation of a task force that made a number of recommendations for the juvenile justice system.

A federal judge ruled this week that seven officers were entitled to qualified immunity, and he dismissed claims of negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

The lawsuit was filed by Lofton’s brother.  Judge Eric Melgren ruled that the lawsuit failed to prove that it is unconstitutional for officers with fair warning of an arrestee’s mental health crisis to take them to a hospital instead of a detention facility.   Melgren also said the suit failed to prove that the officers deprived Lofton of his constitutional rights by taking him to JIAC instead of taking him to the hospital for a mental evaluation.