TOLEDO (WTOL) - The arrest of Damon Joseph and Elizabeth LeCron came from investigations following social media posts, which you can do too.
There are numerous things you can do to be on the lookout for red flags on Facebook and other social media.
Lucas County Sheriff john Tharp said his detectives have been looking into more and more social media activity over the years and many come from Facebook friends or Twitter followers who are reporting suspicious behavior.
Sheriff Tharp said even though the county can partner with other local and federal organizations like the FBI, they can’t investigate every single social media post, it’s not possible.
So, they have to rely on people reporting any suspicious activity to local law enforcement to begin investigations.
Along with utilizing Facebook or Twitters reporting features, if a post online seems to threaten anyone or glorifies violence in anyway, Sheriff Tharp said those are actions that law enforcement needs to look into.
Even if the possible threat seems harmless or it’s simply someone getting some anger off of their chest.
“Still, let us know, let us make that determination. What may be though to be benign, it may be something very serious. So, we need to look in each and every situation we come across. So, we can’t take anything lightly," said Sheriff Tharp.
Sheriff Tharp also said if reported social media activity doesn’t expose a potential threat to people’s safety, the investigation could open doors to get people some mental health assistance if they need it.