Tenth Circuit Affirms Our Excessive Force Case in the Death of Cedric Lofton
We’re proud to share a major development in our ongoing civil rights case on behalf of the family of Cedric Lofton, a 17-year-old foster youth who died after being restrained in the prone position for over 30 minutes at the Sedgwick County Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center.
Today, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued a published opinion affirming the denial of qualified immunity to five corrections officers involved in Cedric’s death. In doing so, the Court recognized that Cedric’s constitutional rights were clearly established and that a jury should be allowed to decide whether the officers used excessive and deadly force.
The Facts
Cedric was in the middle of a severe mental health crisis when Wichita police took him—not to a hospital—but to the county’s juvenile intake facility. There, officers placed Cedric face-down in a prone restraint and held him down for over 30 minutes—despite video evidence showing long periods of complete stillness and medical experts concluding Cedric died from pressure applied to his back.
Although Cedric was initially combative, the central question in this case has always been whether the officers continued using force long after Cedric was subdued. The Tenth Circuit agreed with us—and the district court—that there is a genuine factual dispute on this point that must be resolved by a jury.
The Legal Significance
This case is now binding precedent in the Tenth Circuit on two important issues:
- Prolonged prone restraint can constitute deadly force, particularly when the suspect is subdued and restrained, and
- Qualified immunity does not protect officers who continue to apply force after a person no longer poses a threat, especially when that person is shackled, handcuffed, and nonresponsive.
The Court rejected the officers’ attempt to have the case dismissed based on video footage that they claimed “blatantly contradicted” Cedric’s version of events. The Court found instead that the video was consistent with our argument: that Cedric had stopped resisting long before officers stopped restraining him.
Why It Matters
This ruling is about more than just Cedric—it’s about protecting the rights and dignity of children in custody and holding public officials accountable when those rights are violated. Cedric deserved help. What he got was deadly force. We are grateful the Court recognized that Cedric’s life mattered and that his case deserves to be heard by a jury.
Ben Stelter-Embry of Embry Law, LLC, John Marrese and Steven Hart of Hart McLaughlin & Eldridge and Andrew Stroth of Action Injury Law Group will continue to fight for justice in Cedric’s name and for all those subjected to unnecessary and excessive force while in state custody.
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Benjamin Stelter-Embry
Embry Law, LLC
If you have any questions about this case or civil rights law generally, please don’t hesitate to contact us.