For City Council Meeting May 26, 2026
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Tanya Williams, City Manager
AUTHOR: Mark P. Kling, Chief of Police
Title
Request City Council to Adopt Resolution No. 8515 Approving the Industrial Disability Retirement of Dionisio Cuellar.
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a Resolution approving the Industrial Disability Retirement for Dionisio Cuellar.
BACKGROUND
Dionisio Cuellar is a 53-year-old retired Police Officer who was hired on July 23, 2007, and retired on November 1, 2025. Mr. Cuellar has two workers' compensation claims that have been accepted and determined to have arisen out of employment with the City of Rialto.
On February 14, 2023, Mr. Cuellar sustained a lumbar muscle strain, left elbow sprain, right elbow sprain, and thoracic spine strain during an altercation with a suspect. Mr. Cuellar wrestled with the suspect and heard several pops in his lower back during the course of the event. He immediately experienced low back pain and bilateral elbow pain. In May of 2025, Mr. Cuellar was diagnosed with coronary heart disease, resulting in cardiac catheterization and two stents. Both claims were accepted as being industrial and arising out of the course of performing his usual and customary duties as a Police Officer.
An MRI of Mr. Cuellar's lumbar spine was performed on March 7, 2023, which showed lumbar spondylosis with disc degeneration had progressed. He underwent conservative treatment, including physical therapy and chiropractic treatment. Mr. Cuellar has also had multiple epidural injections and multiple radiofrequency ablations, yet continues to have ongoing back pain. An MRI scan done on January 7, 2026, showed worsening pathology with a large herniation at L1-L2, significant multilevel degenerative changes, and significant facet arthropathy. In May 2025, Mr. Cuellar had a cardiac event and had two stents placed in his heart as a result. He has not worked since June 19...
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