Modesto pays $25,000 in mistake over missing person case

Modesto has paid $25,000 to settle a claim filed by the wife of a disabled man whose missing person case police admit they mishandled. The claim says the man died after being assaulted while he was missing.

Modesto resident Doug Cline, 61, had suffered a head injury several years earlier that left him with cognitive difficulties. Family said he could become confused and forget his name and where he lived.

His wife, Kristine Cline, reported him missing Aug. 8. Because Doug Cline was what Modesto police call an “at-risk” missing person, the officer who took the report was required within one hour to issue what is called a “be on the lookout” alerting other Modesto officers about Cline, according to Police Department policy. The officer also was required to notify the records unit so it could get the information into the missing persons network within two hours.

Police Chief Galen Carroll said the officer did not make those timely notifications.

Another officer spoke with Cline about 2 1/2 hours after the first officer took the missing person 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.

“I wake up in the middle of the night and I’m in tears,” said Susan Candito, who is Cline’s sister. “This is so wrong.”

Carroll and two other police officials met with several members of Cline’s family after his death. “I feel horrible for the family,” he said. “When you’re wrong, you’re wrong, and we were wrong. The whole crux of the department screw-up is the report was not taken as it should have been. I wanted to meet with the family and talk to them directly. It’s part of being accountable for the department.”

He said because of this incident, the department retrained its officers on missing persons cases and launched an internal investigation of the incident.

Carroll identified the officer who took the missing person report as Chris Hendee. He said Hendee would not comment for this story. Carroll said Hendee is a new Modesto officer and still on probation. He said Hendee worked for another law enforcement agency before coming here.

“Unfortunately, as you are training new employees,” Carroll said, “mistakes can happen, and in this case, a tragedy happened.”

Cline’s family said before his head injury he had been a cabinetmaker and truck driver. They said he loved to tell stories and had a great sense of humor and a laugh that lifted everyone’s spirits. Now they are waiting for justice in his death.

Carroll said homicide detectives investigated Cline’s death and have identified a 17-year-old suspect. He said they have forwarded their investigation to the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office for review. Carroll declined to comment further. District Attorney Birgit Fladager said in an email she could not comment because the case involves a minor. The Coroner’s Office referred questions regarding Cline’s cause of death to the Police Department.

“We are all in limbo,” Candito said. “He had a lot of difficulties in his life. It seemed like luck was not on his side. But when it comes to this, this was not his fault, and we cannot let it go.”

Here is a timeline for Aug. 8:

▪ Hendee took the missing person report at 4:44 p.m. from Kristine Cline at her central Modesto home. The report says Cline said her husband had cognitive memory loss and had wandered off eight previous times that year. Cline said the last time she saw her husband was at 5 p.m. the previous day. The family said Kristine Cline and other family members searched frantically for Doug Cline, including repeated calls to local hospitals and distributing missing person fliers. Carroll said before this missing person report, his officers had handled two other missing person reports involving Cline over about a year and had handled them correctly.

▪ Carroll said that at 7:09 p.m., another officer spoke with Doug Cline regarding a report of a suspicious person kicking a door. Cline was sitting on the grass at Modesto Municipal Golf Course and denied kicking the door. Carroll said the officer ran Cline’s name through police records and nothing came back. Carroll said Cline told the officer he lived nearby and gave him the address of his boyhood home.

▪ Carroll said that at 8:10 p.m., officers arrived at Madera Avenue near Tuolumne Boulevard and the golf course to respond to reports of a fight or assault. He said Cline was the only person there when officers arrived. Carroll said it appears Cline had been knocking on doors before the fight or assault. One Madera Avenue resident told The Bee that Cline appeared disoriented and was nearly hit by cars as he crossed Tuolumne Boulevard from the golf course to Madera. The resident declined to comment further. Other residents declined to comment or said they did not know anything.

Carroll said Cline gave his name as Joe and was taken to the hospital as a John Doe. His family said he did not have any identification on him. Jasmin Goncalves – one of Cline’s three children – said it took the Police Department four days to take his fingerprints at the hospital and identify him. Candito said her brother had broken bones in his face and bruising along his forearms that appeared to have come from raising his arms to protect himself. She said her brother was on life support and died after being removed from it.

Goncalves said her father’s death was deeply troubling because she worked as a community service officer for the Police Department from 2001 to 2004 and had nothing but respect for a department she thought did outstanding work. But she now has doubts. “It was very heartbreaking for me,” she said.

Kristine Cline filed the claim against the city in February. She was not represented by an attorney and checked a box on the claim that stated the amount she sought did not exceed $25,000. Goncalves said she helped her stepmother try to find an attorney to take the case.

Cline would not comment but issued a statement through Goncalves emphasizing how much her husband loved his entire family, including his two daughters and son, grandchildren and the family pets.

Family members said the city paid the claim in March. The Bee learned about the payment through a public records request filed with the city, requesting a list of payments settling lawsuits and claims during the first quarter of this year.

This story was originally published April 23, 2016 at 3:02 PM with the headline "Modesto pays $25,000 in mistake over missing person case."