No charges in disabled Modesto man’s death

Stanislaus County prosecutors will not file charges against the teenager who got into an altercation last year with a 61-year-old disabled Modesto man who died days later after he was removed from life support.

The decision is another blow for Doug Cline’s family. “We are heartsick,” said his sister, Susan Candito.

The first blow came in August 2015 when a Modesto police officer mishandled a missing person report he took on Cline, who had sustained a head injury years earlier that left him with cognitive difficulties. Family members have said he could become confused and forget his name and where he lived.

Cline also would wander away from his central Modesto home. His wife reported him missing the afternoon of Aug. 8. Because Cline was what Modesto police classify as an “at-risk” missing person, the officer was required to get the word out fast that Cline was missing. But police have said the officer did not do that.

Another officer then spoke with Cline about 2 1/2 hours after the first officer took the report. The officer ran Cline’s name through police records and nothing came back. The officer sent Cline on his way. Then about an hour after that, police arrived at a neighborhood to investigate reports of a fight or assault. They found Cline alone, beaten and leaning against a fence. He was taken to Doctors Medical Center, where he died Aug. 15, 2015.

Several Cline family members recently met with officials from the District Attorney’s Office to discuss the case.

“The only known suspect in this case was a juvenile at the time of the offense; consequently, we are not able to publicly release information to the media since it involved a minor,” District Attorney’s Office spokesman John Goold said in an email. “We can tell you that based upon facts as determined by the investigation, we are not filing criminal charges nor a a juvenile petition in this case.”

Family members said officials at the meeting told them Cline was asleep on the lawn in front of a house when the teenager approached him to see if Cline needed help. Police have said the teen was 17 years old. Family members said officials told them Cline put his hands around the teen’s neck, and the teen claims he fought Cline in self-defense.

But family members said Cline was confused, disoriented and posed no threat. They said he suffered broken bones in his face and other serious injuries from the altercation and was placed on life support at the hospital.

“Maybe it started as self-defense,” said Jasmin Goncalves, one of Cline’s daughters. “Maybe my dad grabbed him when he reached down. I can buy that. But I don’t understand when they say he (the teen) went further than that. I believe he went too far in defending himself.”

Candito said officials told family members that a group of people witnessed the altercation, but investigators were able to track down two witnesses. She said one is friend of the teenager and the other was deported before investigators could interview him.

Family members ask anyone who witnessed the altercation or knows anything about it to contact authorities. The altercation occurred about 8 p.m. on Aug. 8, 2015, at Madera Avenue near Tuolumne Boulevard in west Modesto. Family members said officials told them at the meeting that charges could be filed if more evidence surfaces.

Cline’s widow, Kristine Cline, filed a claim against the city of Modesto in February for her husband’s death. She was not represented by an attorney, though Goncalves said she helped her stepmother to try to find an attorney to take the case. Cline settled the claim for $25,000.

Goncalves said her stepmother was working on getting help to care for her husband when he disappeared the final time.

This story was originally published October 12, 2016 at 1:57 PM with the headline "No charges in disabled Modesto man’s death."