MAN SHOT BY POLICE REMAINS IN I.C.U.

Crime: Santa Ana Police Identify The Two Officers Who Say They Mistook His
Flashlight For A Gun.

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.