FROSTPROOF, Fla. — Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said an armed 28-year-old man was shot and killed by deputies Wednesday night in Frostproof.
During a news conference Thursday morning, Judd said it all started around 7 p.m. when deputies were called out to a home by the man's sister, who said he physically hurt her and was "out of control."
The sister told deputies that her brother, Yoel Arnaldo Mejia Santel, "was paranoid and likely schizophrenic," the sheriff's office said. She told deputies Santel took her cellphone and broke it and injured her finger during a fight.
"She said Santel made statements that if she calls the cops, they'll have to shoot him because he'll have a machete," the sheriff's office wrote in a release.
Judd said the three deputies who arrived at the home first are trained in crisis intervention and spent 47 minutes "trying to deescalate" the situation while Santel was standing in the doorway of the home. When deputies tried to reach in the home and grab him, Santel fell back and then retreated to the bathroom, Judd said.
At that point, deputies said Yantel then armed himself with a machete.
The sheriff's office said Santel refused to leave the bathroom as deputies commanded him to do. At one point, Santel said, "Did you smell that gas? I poured gas everywhere."
Deputies later said they did smell gas when they entered the home.
"Believing Santel also possessed a lighter, deputies introduced a chemical agent in an attempt to get Santel to exit the bathroom with his hands up," the sheriff's office said.
When a fourth deputy who arrived at the scene reached down to pick up the can of the chemical agent, Judd said Santel charged out of the bathroom with a machete over his head toward the deputies.
The sheriff said Santel was within four feet of the deputies when they each fired at him, killing him. Deputies then dragged Santel outside and attempted to render aid and CPR.
None of the deputies were hurt in the shooting.
Since last night, Judd said investigators learned that Santel had been threatening his sister for two weeks and had recently been released from state prison in May on violation of probation charges.
Judd said in 2013 and 2014, Santel had been Baker Acted for trying to harm himself.
During the news conference, Judd said his deputies are "the best-trained people in a crisis, not a mental health counselor who's used to a clinical setting."
“There is no doubt, law enforcement is a dangerous job. When deputies respond to a family disturbance, they do everything they can to deescalate the situation and bring about a peaceful conclusion. Unfortunately, Santel put them in a position where they had to protect themselves and those around them," Judd said.
The deputies involved are: 40-year-old Lieutenant Kenneth Hill, a 20-year veteran of PCSO; 36-year-old Sergeant Joshua Anderson, a 15-year veteran of PCSO; and 49-year-old Deputy Sheriff Sarah Taylor, a 10-year veteran of PCSO.
All deputies involved have been placed on paid administrative leave during the rest of the investigation.
The sheriff's office's homicide unit and administration will conduct separate investigations along with an investigation by the State Attorney's Office and the Medical Examiner's Office.
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