SANTA ANA – The family of a man killed by police in December says he was shot in the back of the head, and they’re asking for $20 million.

Lawyers representing two children of Andres Ramirez, who was shot by Santa Ana police on Dec. 10, filed a wrongful-death lawsuit Wednesday morning.

They provided a copy of a California death certificate showing Ramirez died from a “gunshot wound, back of head.”

Orange County Deputy Coroner Mitchell Sigal, whose name appears on the death certificate, declined to comment. He referred questions to the District Attorney’s Office, which is investigating the shooting.

Ramirez, 21, a resident of North Carolina, was visiting relatives in Santa Ana when he was shot in an alley in the 1100 block of Poplar Street at about 9:40 p.m. on Dec. 10. He died shortly after midnight on Dec. 11.

Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said Tuesday that officers had gone to Poplar Street the night of the shooting in response to a report of gang members loitering in an alley.

“It’s a gang area that we’ve been having some issues,” including recent homicides, he said.

An hour later, two officers returned to the same block, Bertagna said. One of the officers encountered Ramirez, who brandished a knife, Bertagna said.

“What led that officer to the back alley, I don’t know,” Bertagna said. “He contacted the individual, he had a knife, and what happened after that I don’t know. I haven’t been told. That’s what they’re investigating.”

In the lawsuit, attorneys for Ramirez’s family say he was cooperating with police and was standing with his hands up when an officer approached him from behind and shot him in the back of his head.

The officers then “created a blatantly false story” that Ramirez had a knife, the suit says.

Dana Douglas, an attorney representing the family, said investigators hired by her law firm had spoken to a witness to the shooting, someone who lives in an apartment nearby, who said Ramirez had his hands up.

However, people in the neighborhood are afraid to speak up, and “we’re not confident” that the witness will testify in court, said James Rumm, another attorney representing the family.

Ramirez was not a gang member, Douglas said. He was born in Santa Ana and moved to North Carolina about the age of 7, she said. He didn’t return to Santa Ana until December, she said.

He had the a tattoo of the number “714,” the telephone area code for Santa Ana, said his fiancé, Laura Juarez. “He always dreamed of coming back; he always wanted to bring us over here and live here,” she said.

Ramirez lived with Juarez, 20, their daughter, age 20 months, and son, 8 months, and his stepmother, Juarez said. He didn’t go out much, preferring to spend time with his family, she said. He had worked in construction and for a chiropractor, but was laid off in September, she said. One reason for his visit to Santa Ana was to look for a job, she said.

Ramirez didn’t own any weapons, she said. “He was nobody’s enemy. Everybody liked him.”

“I want justice for my kids,” Juarez said. “I want to know why they did this to him. I think it’s very unfair that my kids are going to grow up without a father.”

Investigations of police shootings typically take about six months, said Susan Schroeder, the District Attorney’s chief of staff. “They’re very labor intensive,” she said, and include scouring the neighborhood where the shooting occurred, interviewing witnesses and doing scientific analysis of evidence.

Schroeder declined to comment on the investigation into Ramirez’s death, saying details will be released when the investigation is completed.

Santa Ana police shot eight people and two dogs in 2010, Bertagna said.

The suit seeks $20 million to compensate the two children for the loss of their father, as well as for his pain and suffering, the value of his life, and funeral and burial expenses.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7956 or agalvin@ocregister.com