Modesto Pays $25,000 In Mistake Over Missing Person Case
MODESTO, Calif. (AP) -- Modesto police have paid $25,000 to settle a claim over the case of a missing disabled man who was found fatally beaten.
The Modesto Bee reports an officer talked to Doug Cline two and a-half hours after he was reported missing on Aug. 8, but because the police report on Cline's disappearance hadn't been entered into a database, the officer sent him on his way.
Later, police found him beaten. He was taken to Doctors Medical Center, where he died Aug. 15.
Police Chief Galen Carroll said he feels horrible for the family. He says the department was wrong for failing to enter the missing person report in a timely manner.
Police say they have identified a 17-year-old suspect in Cline's death.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
