Osceola's first Hispanic sheriff promises more transparency for the agency

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  • Osceola Sheriff Marco Lopez speaks during his swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday with his new admnistration behind him at the Osceola County Historic Courthouse.
    Osceola Sheriff Marco Lopez speaks during his swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday with his new admnistration behind him at the Osceola County Historic Courthouse.
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By Brian McBride

Editor

Osceola County’s first Hispanic sheriff promised more transparency as the new head of the Sheriff’s Office when he was sworn in on Tuesday.

Marco Lopez took part in the ceremony at the Osceola County Historic Courthouse on Tuesday in front of several hundred people. He introduced his administration that stood behind him on the courthouse steps.

“They are very experienced, they are very well rounded,” Lopez said. “I do feel they are people who share my vision,” Lopez said. “They have the passion and the heart to do their job in Osceola County.”

One of his main goals under his leadership would to create more transparency in the Sheriff’s Office, Lopez noted.

“We definitely need transparency,” Lopez said. “We’ve seen all across America where police have been labeled as the bad guys. We’re not. We are the good guys. We want to bring that back.”

That would call for implementing a community advisory review board. Lopez said he would call on community leaders for their input on how to operate such a board and also ask community members for their involvement.

Lopez also wants to create a veterans liaison department because there’s been an influx of veterans to the Central Florida area. He explained that at times there have been domestic violence issues involving veterans where law enforcement has been called.

“We need some type of outreach program for them,” Lopez said. “Those guys sacrificed all for us, we need to give something back.”

Another need was de-escalating training for people with mental health issues. Lopez said Orange County was experimenting with such programs and he hoped to build on that  to identify people’s mental illness and those who are in crisis.

“We don’t want to shoot people,” Lopez added. “Our ultimate job is to protect and serve.”

The new sheriff said he was “honored” to be the first elected Hispanic sheriff at the head of the agency.

“That wasn’t my goal,” Lopez said. “My goal was to be a sheriff to protect and serve to bring this community together.”