DA: Death of Kansas teen in custody not necessarily criminal

By JOHN HANNA
Associated Press

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas prosecutor says an autopsy’s finding that the death of a Black teen in custody at a juvenile center was a homicide doesn’t necessarily mean the center’s employees committed any crimes. Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett will decide whether to file charges over the death of 17-year-old Cedric Lofton. Bennett’s statement Wednesday came after attorneys for Lofton’s family described his death as “unjustified.” But Bennett said the designation of the death as a homicide means only that someone’s intentional act led to another person’s death. Lofton died at a Wichita-area hospital on Sept. 26, two days after a struggle with Sedgwick County juvenile center employees.