(CNN)A Kansas district attorney announced he will be filing no charges in connection with the death of Cedric Lofton, a Black teenager who died in law enforcement custody, citing the state's robust "stand your ground" law.
Lofton, 17, died in September after being handcuffed and restrained in the prone position, meaning lying face-down, during a struggle with staff and corrections employees at a juvenile facility.
Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said at a Tuesday news conference that the employees involved acted in self-defense under the "stand your ground" law because the teen resisted and struggled with corrections staff and they, therefore, are immune from prosecution.
Lofton family lawyers disagreed, saying officers "took his breath away" by putting Lofton in the prone position. And they said Bennett's decision is another instance of no accountability for the death of an unarmed Black teen.
An autopsy report found in December that Lofton's cause of death was "complications of cardiopulmonary arrest sustained after physical struggle while restrained in the prone position." The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide.
"The cause of death was brought about by the position in which Cedric was held as well as the ongoing struggle which lasted for over thirty minutes largely unabated," said a report released by Bennett. "The long-lasting struggle while in the face-down position impeded his breathing, which caused the supply of oxygen to his heart to be...
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