Man Shot by Police Remains in I.C.U.

A convicted drug dealer who was shot by Santa Ana police after they allegedly mistook his flashlight for a gun remained hospitalized Monday in critical condition.

Santiago Valencia Ayala, 23, was in intensive care recovering from two gunshot wounds to his chest, according to a spokeswoman for Western Medical Center-Santa Ana.

On Monday, police also released the names of the officers involved in the May 15 shooting: Officer Rodolfo Reynoso, a four-year veteran, and Cpl. Eric Rimat, who has been with the department 15 years.

Police officials said the officers tried to stop Ayala during a suspected drug deal near downtown Santa Ana when he led them on a foot chase and hid inside a home on Camille Street.

Police said the officers fired at Ayala when he lunged toward them with what appeared to be a gun. The object was later determined to be a black flashlight.

The two officers took three days off to recover from the shooting, as allowed by department policy, and returned to their normal duties, said Police Lt. George Saadeh.

“These officers put their lives on the line every day,” Saadeh said. “They deal with split-second decisions and we need to give them some credit for the tough, quick decisions they make daily.”

Reynoso works as a patrol officer assigned to the community policing task force.

Rimat, 41, is a decorated K-9 handler who was awarded the Purple Heart in 1996 after he was shot in the left elbow when he and his dog, Endy, entered a home where a man had held officers at bay for 6 1/2 hours. He was named field support officer of the year in 1995.

Rimat also was named with nine other Police Department and city personnel in a 1995 federal civil lawsuit accusing them of civil-rights violations.

In that matter, David Torres was arrested for prowling and resisting and obstructing an officer. He accused the officers of excessive force “when they permitted him to be mauled by a police dog” during his arrest.

A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit because it was filed after the statute of limitations had expired.

The district attorney’s office is investigating Ayala’s May 15 shooting. His family has dismissed police assertions that he was carrying a flashlight.