Sheriff Marcos Lopez punished for posting crime scene photos #SheriffLopez #MadelineSoto #crimesceneinvestigator OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – After the state attorney threatened to place him on a database dedicated to law enforcement officers accused of misconduct, the Osceola County Sheriff is trying to clear up what he says is a “misinterpretation of a quote” surrounding a controversial crime scene photo posted on social media. Court records show that Sheriff Marcos Lopez was cited for disclosing a photograph that depicted the killing of 13-year-old Madeline Soto. 💯 Join our mission to uncover the truth in crime! Support Police Off the Cuff on Patreon for exclusive content and insider access. Click now and become a part of our detective squad: https://www.patreon.com/policeoffthecuff 💬 Did you like this video? Let me know in the comments below! ✅ Subscribe to Police off the Cuff right now! Click here: https://www.youtube.com/@PoliceofftheCuff?sub_confirmation=1 Or become a YouTube Member to get access to perks here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKo80Xa1PYTc23XN_Yjp8pA/join --------------- Welcome to the Official YouTube Channel of Police off the Cuff This is where the veil of mystery on high-profile cases is lifted through the sharp insights of seasoned law enforcement professionals and where real crime meets real analysis. This is your destination for exploring the complexities of true crime stories, illuminated by the rich experience and street wisdom of those who have walked the thin blue line. At the helm is retired NYPD Sergeant Bill Cannon, a figure of authority in the crime investigation arena, with a diverse background that spans across acting, broadcasting, and academia. Bill's profound knowledge and keen analytical skills, combined with his empathetic approach, make each story not just heard but felt. Phil's extensive investigative experience, coupled with his genuine passion and characteristic Brooklyn charm, adds depth and relatability to the discussions. ➡️ Here we navigate the intricate web of the nation's most captivating crime stories, offering not just stories, but an education on the realities of criminal investigation. Their combined expertise provides a unique lens through which the stories are told, offering insights that only those with firsthand experience can provide. Join us on this journey into the heart of true crime, where every episode promises a deep dive into the minds of criminals and the tireless efforts of law enforcement to bring them to justice. --------------- 📲 Follow Police off the Cuff on social media: Instagram ▶️ https://www.instagram.com/policeoffthecuff Facebook ▶️ https://www.facebook.com/Policeoffthecuff-312794509230136/ Twitter ▶️ https://twitter.com/policeoffthecuf 🎧 Dive deep into true crime with Police Off the Cuff Podcast. Join retired NYPD expert Bill Cannon as he dissects infamous cases with insider insight: https://anchor.fm/otcpod1 ☑️ Support Police Off the Cuff and help us bring you more captivating crime stories. Every contribution makes a difference! Choose your preferred way to donate: Venmo: https://venmo.com/William-Cannon-27 PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/policeoffthecuff1gma --------------- 📚 Disclaimer: This video may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. --------------- #PoliceOffTheCuff
Police Off The Cuff/Real Crime Stories
Sheriff Marcos Lopez punished for posting crime scene photos of Madeline Soto
OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – After the state attorney threatened to place him on a database dedicated to law enforcement officers accused of misconduct, the Osceola County Sheriff is trying to clear up what he says is a “misinterpretation of a quote” surrounding a controversial crime scene photo posted on social media.
Court records show that Sheriff Marcos Lopez was cited for disclosing a photograph that depicted the killing of 13-year-old Madeline Soto.
- Duration:
- 15m
- Broadcast on:
- 28 Jul 2024
- Audio Format:
- mp3
"My dad works in B2B marketing. "He came by my school for career day "and said he was a big row as man. "Then he told everyone how much he loved "calculating his return on ad spend. "My friends still laughing at me to this day." - Not everyone gets B2B, but with LinkedIn, you'll be able to reach people who do. Get $100 credit on your next ad campaign. Go to linkedin.com/results to claim your credit. That's linkedin.com/results. Terms and conditions apply. Linked in, the place to be, to be. (upbeat music) - Hello everyone, and welcome to "Police Off the Cover" Real Crime Stories. I'm your host, retired NYPD Sergeant Bill Cannon, a 27-year veteran of the NYPD. Beautiful Sunday morning. Can believe it's the 28th of July. A case, of course, out of Osceola County. And remember this man here, Sheriff from Osceola County, Sheriff Lopez. Marco's Lopez. And the Osceola Sheriff is accused of sharing Madeline Soto's crime scene photo. And his response, I think, was more or less got him into trouble. He was accused of making conflicting statements. After the state attorney threatened to place him on a database dedicated to law enforcement officers accused of misconduct, the Osceola County Sheriff is trying to clear what he says is a misinterpretation of a quote surrounding a controversial crime scene photo posted on social media. Court records showed that Sheriff Marco's Lopez was cited for disclosing a photograph that depicted the killing of 13-year-old Madeline Soto. Soto's body was found in the wooded area in the St. Cloud on March 1st, four days after she fell to shore up at school and was reported missing. The Osceola County Sheriff's office previously acknowledged that an investigative photo had been accidentally posted on Lopez's Instagram account. Hours after the teen's body was located. That doesn't sound like it could really be an accident. In a letter sent from a state attorney, Andrew Bain to Lopez on July 8th, Bain points out that Lopez told Kissimmee Police Chief that the photo was published by mistake and made a public apology. However, the state attorney's offices, they were conflicting remarks Lopez made during a radio interview where he claimed the picture didn't actually show the body. According to the letter, Lopez told WDBO as to the photo, there was an apology issued, but it wasn't actually the body. It was an area of interest where the body was found. No one ever came out directly and said it was the victim. In a sworn interview with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Lopez told an investigator that he had pictures sent to his phone so he could compare the clothing on the body to what the victim was last seen wearing. Regardless, Lopez has been cited with violating Florida's public record laws and non-criminal infraction that carries a fine up to $500 court record show. So this is quite a serious matter, believe it or not. I mean, obviously when this first occurred, people were outraged, people were absolutely outraged that someone in law enforcement posted this picture of this little girl that lost her life under these horrific circumstances and to see her body posted on social media was just too much. Folks, hold on to your hats, hold on to your next door neighbor, hold on to your service dog, hold on to your coffee, you're about to enter true crime from a police perspective, you're about to enter the off the cuff zone, the police off the cuff zone. (dramatic music) - They asked me some common sense. - Yes sir, and the other cars don't intend to scratch my requirement. - We still don't know before the trailer. (dramatic music) (dramatic music) - You know, whether this case against Sheriff Marcos Lopez goes away or persists is all, I think, the way the public perceives it. And I think it's, this has been since March, the, he's sanctioned with a, I believe a $500 fine. It didn't rise to the level of misdemeanor. I think this will probably wind up going away, but I think people are actually incensed over what occurred here. - The record showing that Sheriff of Osceola County Marcos Lopez has been given a citation for posting a photo that showed the remains of Madeline Soto, 13 year old Madeline was found dead near St. Cloud in March, days after she never showed up to school. The boyfriend of her mother was eventually charged with sexually molesting and killing her. The sheriff's office says a crime scene photo was accidentally posted to the agency's social media page. Now the state attorney's office is officially citing the Sheriff, Sheriff Marcos Lopez, with a non criminal infraction that carries a fine up to $500. We've asked the sheriff for a comment on this, but have not heard back yet. - So can that really be done accidentally? Can you really post a photo to your Instagram accidentally? I think not. So that excuse doesn't really hold water that he posted it accidentally. But so then what was, what really was his mindset? Why did he post this? This is really inexcusable. But the question is, how severely do we want him punished? I mean, do you want this sheriff to lose his job? Do we want this sheriff to be charged with a misdemeanor? Or do we feel that this sanction of $500 fine and the public embarrassment is enough to basically serve his penance for an ill-gotten deed? I ask you guys, what do you think? If you think that this $500 fine and public embarrassment is enough, put a one in the chat. If you think he should be punished more severely, then put a two in the chat. I sort of think that it was absolutely 100% a bad mistake. Someone in the chat though, it feels differently. Erika Rivera-Ruiz, Marco Lopez as a criminal is told a disgrace to the RCOO County Sheriff's Office. Let's have an open discussion on these criminal acts. Well, Erika, I don't know if it rose to the level of criminality or else the district attorney, excuse me, the state attorney would have gotten involved in the criminal matter. However, right now it's listed sort of as a internal, internal affairs, as a administrative error. And so that's how they're looking at this now. So I don't think people are mostly sharing your opinion that he should be drawn and courted and lose his job. This is WKMG on their report on this incident. - It's end murder of 13 year old Madeline Soto. Tonight, local sheriff is under fire for allegedly posting a confidential crime scene photo on Instagram. News six broke the story on clickoralando.com. Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez is being summoned to court and prosecutors say he posted a photo on social media that showed the body of Soto. Thanks for joining us tonight. I'm Matt Austin. - And I'm Lisa Bell in for Ginger Gadsden. The sheriff could be forced to pay a fine for sharing that crime scene photo, but that's not the only trouble Osceola's top cop is facing tonight. Here's what we know right now. Back in March, hours after Madeline Soto's body was found in a wooded area near St. Cloud, a photo was posted on Sheriff Marcos Lopez's Instagram page that allegedly showed the murdered teen's body. It is a violation of Florida law for government officials to disclose confidential photos that depict the killing of a juvenile. Prosecutors have cited Sheriff Lopez with a non criminal infraction that carries a maximum $500 fine. News six investigator Mike DeForest has been covering this story from the beginning. - So Mike, the state attorney is now questioning the sheriff's truthfulness and his credibility. - Matt, this is a significant new development. I just got my hands on this letter written by state attorney Andrew Bain to Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez. Now, the state attorney is demanding that the sheriff's office conduct an internal investigation into the sheriff himself for allegedly making inconsistent statements about that crime scene photo. Now, back in March, a photo was posted on Sheriff Marcos Lopez's Instagram page that allegedly showed the body of 13 year old murder victim, Madeline Soto. Now, the sheriff's office immediately issued a statement apologizing for it. The agency described the image as an investigative photo and claimed that it had been accidentally included in a social media post about a senior citizen event. But about three weeks later, during a radio interview with WDBO, Lopez suggested the photo was not showing the teen's body. As to the photo, there was an apology issued, but it wasn't actually the body. Lopez told the radio station. It was an area of interest where there was a body found. No one ever came out directly and said it was the victim. Well, by then the Florida Department of Law Enforcement was investigating the origins of that crime scene photo. Investigators discovered that Lopez had apologized to Kissimmee's police chief for posting the photo of Soto's body later during a sworn interview. The sheriff reportedly told investigators that he requested photos of the victim's body to be sent to his personal phone so he could compare the clothing. Now, the state attorney says he's having trouble squaring Lopez's statements. In a letter to Sheriff Lopez, state attorney Andrew Bain wrote, consider this by formal request that your agency conduct an internal investigation into whether your inconsistent statements constitute a violation of Osceola County Sheriff's Office policy. Once our office receives the results of that investigation, my office will determine whether your inclusion in the Brady notification system is appropriate. Now, the Brady notification system or so-called Brady list is a way that prosecutors let criminal defendants know about state witnesses who may have credibility or truthfulness issues. So far, Sheriff Lopez has not responded to my questions asking whether that internal investigation is underway or whether he'll be asking an outside agency like the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate. So that is obviously a stain on Sheriff's Lopez's record. Getting put on the Brady list which would require law enforcement to notify the defense, the defense attorney that if Sheriff Lopez was going to be used as a witness in this case, that he has credibility problems, that's sort of the kiss of death for an investigator, for a police officer to have credibility problems. If you have credibility problems, it sort of means that you cannot be sworn. And what good is an investigator, or police officer with that matter, if he can't raise his right hand and swears to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God, while your left hand is on a Bible. You know, it does not help. It's also a stain on your reputation. And I cannot fathom why he put this photo on his Instagram. I just cannot fathom that at all. One thing though, I'd like to let you guys know, when I was a homicide boss, a sergeant in Manhattan, a homicide squad, I routinely took photos with my digital camera because the crime scene photos we wouldn't get for several days or weeks. So those photos, as an investigative aide to refer to, were invaluable to me. And so I understand why he took them, but I don't understand why he published them on his social media. That is not a good thing. Spacey 11, they didn't notify me that they infused me with ketamine for boys, so they said, "I'm not credible because I'm suicidal." They might want to rethink these evaluations. Missy Violet, pray for justice, I agree, Sergeant Bill. Yes, it's a stain on his reputation. Who will trust him now to do the right thing? I don't know. You know, many of you people think that he should really be severely punished for this. I think it was a -- Missy Violet, sheriff intentions, I agree with Sergeant Bill. I don't see this being a death penalty offense, and I'm obviously over-exaggerating. But should he be sanctioned? Absolutely, but I think it was a real mistake. I think we should evaluate it in concurrence with his reputation and concurrence with his -- Erika Rivera-Ruez, he's being invested by the DOJ with his record -- his history. And let's not jump to conclusions that this man should be eviscerated for this. I don't think he absolutely should be. Again, a huge mistake. No one is condoning what happened. But I don't want to see the guy destroyed. If he has a good reputation. So, folks, that's my short report for today. I'm Bill Cannon from Police, off the cover of your crime stories. Thank you for stopping by on this Sunday morning. Have a great rest of your day, and God bless. [MUSIC] ♪ The middle of this ♪