Jurors have awarded $8.3 million to the family of a Kansas foster teen who died in 2021 after he was held face down for 39 minutes in a juvenile intake center while in the throes of a mental health crisis. Five juvenile officers in Sedgwick County either used excessive force on Cedric “C.J.” Lofton or failed to intervene, the jurors decided Wednesday after a trial in federal court in Wichita. Sedgwick County, which employed the officers named in the suit, said in a news release Wednesday that it was reviewing the verdict and discussing the next steps. When Lofton returned home at 1 a.m. the following day, the foster father called Wichita police, the report said. A sergeant then determined he was too combative to go to the hospital, so officers transported him to the Sedgwick County Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center instead, the report showed.

Source: Los Angeles Times February 06, 2026 08:52 UTC