Yoel Arnaldo Mejia Santel

How they died

Deadly force

Yoel Santel was standing in the doorway of a home when three deputies tried to reach in the home and grab him. Santel fell back and then retreated to a bathroom. At that point, deputies said Yantel then armed himself with a machete. Santel refused to leave the bathroom, and said, "Did you smell that gas? I poured gas everywhere." Deputies later said they smelled gas. Deputies introduced a chemical agent to get Santel to exit the bathroom. When a fourth deputy who arrived and reached down to pick up the can of the chemical agent, Santel reportedly charged out of the bathroom with a machete over his head toward the deputies. Deputies shot and killed him.

Why we remember them

This record exists so that Yoel Arnaldo Mejia Santel, and all who are named in this archive, are never reduced to a number.

References & sources