‘Permanently unfit for duty’: James Fishback’s ex-cop running mate was recently fired by Lauderhill PD

On the evening of March 7, 2025, police say an elderly woman sat down in the middle of the bus lanes at the Lauderhill Transit Center, blocking traffic and refusing to move.

Lauderhill police officer Sean Lozano was working a detail at the transit hub that evening. Within minutes of encountering the woman, Lozano took her by the elbow, “forcibly pushing her to the ground” and handcuffing her, according to a Lauderhill Police Department internal affairs report describing county surveillance video.

Officers who responded to the scene described the woman as confused and disoriented. By the time backup arrived, she had soiled herself, according to the report. Police placed her under the Baker Act, which allows individuals experiencing a mental health crisis to be involuntarily detained for psychiatric evaluation, and sent her to Broward Health. Lozano’s body camera was in his car with a dead battery, but another officer’s captured him admitting he’d thrown her to the ground — and calling her a bitch and telling her to “shut the fuck up.” In his own account of the incident, Lozano wrote that the woman had “lost her balance.”

“The incident raised significant concerns regarding Officer Lozano’s conduct and reporting,” the internal affairs report reads.

Fifteen months later, in July, Republican gubernatorial candidate James Fishback chose Lozano — formerly his deputy campaign manager — as his running mate, saying the former officer would help continue Gov. Ron DeSantis’ support for Florida law enforcement by cracking down on homeless encampments and “teen takeovers.” The same day, Fishback’s team posted bodycam video on social media of Lozano chasing down, tasing, and threatening to shoot a Black man while working as a police officer in September 2024. It wasn’t long before reporters tracked down Lozano’s X account (@SeanLozanoFL) and turned up posts in which he used the N-word, called Black people “subhuman,” and questioned the Holocaust.

That raised a question: if this was how he behaved in public, how did he behave on the job? New Times requested Lozano’s internal affairs file to find out.

Records show he joined the department in November 2022 and racked up eight complaints in three years on the job. Three ended in sustained findings, meaning there was sufficient evidence to prove an allegation of misconduct. In a December 2025 letter obtained by New Times, Lauderhill City Manager Kennie Hobbs Jr. informs Lozano that he is being fired, effective immediately, after an evaluation found him “permanently unfit for duty.” The department redacted the type of evaluation and who performed it.

“I regret to inform you that your employment with the City of Lauderhill cannot be salvaged,” the letter (attached at the bottom of this story) reads.

In response to questions about whether Fishback or his campaign reviewed Lozano’s internal affairs file before naming him his running mate, or whether he was aware of his firing, Fishback sent New Times a document from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement that says Lozano left Lauderhill PD under “Administrative Separation (not involving misconduct).” The FDLE form lists a separation date of December 2025 and makes no reference to a termination. Lauderhill police did not respond to questions about the discrepancy between the two documents.

“Sean A. Lozano is a decorated law enforcement officer. The fake news’ attempt to smear him comes as no surprise given its longstanding disrespect for law enforcement,” Fishback wrote in a text message to New Times. “Governor DeSantis made Florida the law and order capital of the country by backing the blue, not lying about them like the media does. As Governor, I will always defend Florida’s law enforcement and corrections officers.”

In response to a follow-up question about Lozano’s termination letter, Fishback re-sent the above statement to New Times.

Lozano did not respond to an inquiry sent to his Instagram account.

The September 2024 incident does not appear in the internal affairs file obtained by New Times. Lauderhill police did not respond to questions about the footage, including whether it was ever reviewed internally or resulted in a complaint.

Records show Lozano was never disciplined for the bus terminal incident, or for any of the sustained findings against him. While internal affairs sustained five violations over that night alone, including a finding that he lied in an official report, investigators didn’t complete that report until January 30, and Chief Constance Stanley didn’t sign off until February 5. By then, Lozano had been off the payroll for seven weeks.

Fishback, a far-right long-shot candidate running against fellow Republican Byron Donalds, has been labeled the “Groyper candidate” for courting Gen-Z men and aligning himself with white nationalist streamer Nick Fuentes. His selection of Lozano as his running mate was just the latest controversy to follow the campaign.

Records show Lozano joined the Lauderhill Police Department in November 2022. Most of the complaints filed against Lozano during his three years with the department went nowhere: a man trespassed from a plaza who said Lozano pointed a Taser at him, a woman who called 911 and said Lozano showed up pointing his gun. The incidents were reviewed and cleared with no further action.

On August 3, 2024, according to records obtained by New Times, Lozano pulled over a car carrying two missing girls who were the subject of a human trafficking investigation. Records indicate that body camera footage showed the interaction began calmly, with Lozano taking a driver’s license. Then he shone his flashlight into the vehicle and recognized one of the girls in the front seat.

“Who do you fucking think I’m talking to,” Lozano says, according to the internal affairs report. He draws his gun, points it at the driver, 20-year-old Tebolenz Leonce, and handcuffs him. “Shut the fuck up. How about you do yourself a favor and don’t fucking say another word, or this is not going to end well for you.” Then: “You’re lucky I have this fucking uniform and badge on okay motherfucker, you’re very lucky.” According to the records, body camera footage shows Lozano shove Leonce into the back of the patrol car and tell him he’s “lucky I don’t fuck you up right now,” before slamming the door.

The complaint came from a sergeant who worked in the department’s human trafficking unit and had pulled the footage for her own case. Lozano’s behavior, she told investigators, “was grossly inappropriate,” and could have sunk the case in court, records show. Investigators found that Lozano “used excess profanity, made aggressive and inappropriate comments, and escalated the situation unnecessarily despite the driver’s compliance,” and deemed his conduct “unprofessional and unwarranted under the circumstances.”

Internal affairs sustained the complaint, and Lozano’s punishment was a stress management class and a “Performance Record,” which the department calls “a non-disciplinary form of record keeping,” according to the records.

Just two months later, records show Lozano killed a dog while on duty.

On October 18, 2024, Lozano was working overtime with Lauderhill’s Street Enforcement Team and was sent to cover the back of a house while other officers tried to serve a felony warrant on a man wanted for aggravated battery with a firearm, according to the records. Lozano and another detective told investigators they kicked a dog bowl around the yard and made noise for 15 to 30 seconds, hoping to draw out any dog on the property. When none appeared, they entered anyway.

Lozano says a dog came out and bit his hand before he fired four rounds, killing it, records show. The homeowners — asleep inside — said they never got shown a warrant and had a “No Trespassing” sign posted. Their outdoor cameras didn’t catch the shooting, and neither did any of the officers on scene; the detective who was standing right next to Lozano said he didn’t see the bite or the shooting either.

Records show internal affairs closed the case in four months. Chief Constance Stanley, who opened the complaint herself, signed off on February 25, 2025, clearing Lozano entirely.

This is a breaking story and will be updated as events warrant.