Modesto Police – The Burning Platform

Modesto agrees to pay nearly $750,000 to settle lawsuit, but plaintiff is now dead

Patricia Mugrauer sued Modesto last year after a police officer entered her home without her permission or a warrant and pushed the frail, disabled senior, causing her to fall and break her hip.

She settled her lawsuit last month for nearly $750,000, but Mugrauer won’t collect a dime. She died Jan. 26, a week after her settlement, at the age of 69. But one of her attorneys says Modesto is not off the hook and owes the money to his client’s estate.

Mugrauer’s lawsuit came from one of the worst calls police officers handle: a civil dispute between a landlord and a tenant. This story is based on the lawsuit and the officers’ body camera footage provided by the Police Department. The department edited the footage so it only shows part of the officers’ interaction with Mugrauer.

native advertising

Mugrauer was renting a room to a man whose girlfriend had moved in with him. The couple broke up on the morning of Jan. 12, 2015, and the girlfriend wanted to retrieve her belongings that day. The boyfriend was to keep renting the room and, at his request, Mugrauer would not let the girlfriend in until the boyfriend was there so there would be no misunderstandings about the belongings. The boyfriend was expected soon.

The girlfriend called police. Officers John C. Lee and Randy Raduechel responded. Their body camera footage shows Lee standing at the front door talking with Mugrauer. She is standing just inside her home, with the door open.