A call is made by CJ’s foster father to St. Francis Ministries, this is the contracted foster care provider for the Department of Children and Families. The foster father called for help because CJ was actively in a mental health crisis. The worker on call instructed the foster father to call the police and lock CJ out of the house. He was immediately discharged from the foster home. The police arrived at the home where they escalated the situation. CJ was forced into a WRAP restraint and taken into police custody. The police drove him to the Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center. When the officers completed CJs intake form they lied about his mental health state and changed his intake form

CJ is pronounced dead at the hospital, just two days before his 18th birthday.

CJ’s Birthday

He would have turned 18.

The Sedgwick County Coroner’s Office releases CJ’s autopsy report, ruling his cause of death a homicide. Noting complications from prolonged physical restraint in the prone position leading to cardiopulmonary arrest.

The Sedgwick County District Attorney, Marc Bennett, announces that no charges will be filed against the five JIAC officers who sat on a restrained, 135 pound 17 year-old boy for 38 minutes, ultimately killing him.

The first meeting of Sedgwick County’s Community Taskforce to Review Youth Correction System Standards is held.

A Sedgwick County Community Task Force was formed to review youth corrections policies and the handling of the Lofton case, meeting and gathering expert and community input.

Sedgwick County’s Community Taskforce to Review Youth Corrections System Standards concludes by finalizing 57 policy recommendations.

CJ’s family files a federal civil rights lawsuit in Sedgwick County, stating "These JIAC officers perpetrated a prolonged and abhorrent case of excessive force on a 135-pound, shoeless, shackled, and unarmed juvenile in the obvious throes of a mental health crisis.”.

The Sedgwick County Taskforce will hold a 90-day follow up meeting.

A federal judge ruled the civil rights suit against the juvenile detention officers can proceed and must be decided by a jury, rejecting a request to dismiss.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that the lawsuit can go forward. The court found that applying prolonged force on a subdued person can be “excessive” and that the officers were not entitled to qualified immunity, meaning the case can proceed toward trial.

The Lofton family and supporters held a vigil marking four years since CJ’s death.

The civil excessive force trial began in Wichita, continuing the family’s pursuit of accountability and justice.