Sunrise Deputy Mayor Jacqueline Guzman was pulled over on Nov. 10, 2024, her birthday, for allegedly driving with a suspended license — and before the stop ended, she tried to reach the city's police chief by phone. Broward's Office of the Inspector General has now concluded that call amounted to an attempt to misuse her public position, referring the matter to state ethics regulators.
According to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Guzman was told during the stop that her license was no longer valid. Investigators said she was trying to call the personal cellphone of Sunrise Police Chief Daniel Ransone while the stop was still underway, though Ransone did not intervene. Guzman went on to text Ransone several times, writing that she needed her license, the report states.
Watchdog Rejects Guzman's Explanation
During the investigation, Guzman said she had contacted the chief only to document the stop, not to ask for his help, per the Sun Sentinel's account of the findings. The Broward Office of the Inspector General, in its own publication of the conclusions, framed the matter differently, titling its report Sunrise Deputy Mayor Attempted to Corruptly Use Her Position by Involving the Chief of Police in Her Traffic Stop and Driver License Seizure, according to the Broward Office of the Inspector General.
Investigators identified the episode as a violation of both the Florida and Sunrise Codes of Ethics, the Sun Sentinel reported. No criminal violation was alleged. The office said it may refer findings of misconduct to whatever enforcement agency it deems appropriate, according to the Broward Office of the Inspector General's investigations page, and in this case the complaint was sent to the Florida Commission on Ethics.
The Statute Behind the Finding
The ethics violation centers on language in Florida law barring public officials from corruptly using their office to secure a special privilege or benefit for themselves. Florida Statutes section 112.313(6) prohibits a public officer from corruptly using or attempting to use their official position to secure a special privilege, benefit, or exemption for themselves or others, according to the Florida Legislature's statute text. The Sun Sentinel said it could not reach Guzman for comment despite attempts by phone and email.
Not an Isolated Question in Florida
Guzman's case lands amid broader scrutiny of how officials and their contacts fare during routine traffic stops elsewhere in the state. In Fort Myers, a city employee called Police Chief Jason Fields after being stopped for speeding in a school zone, and the chief then asked the officer to void a $300 speeding ticket, according to Gulf Coast News. A separate Fort Myers stop saw an officer give Mayor Kevin Anderson a verbal warning instead of a written one after he rolled through a stop sign in July.
Retired police chief Theron Bowman told the outlet the two Fort Myers incidents raised legitimate concerns about partiality. Fort Myers' city manager's office completed its own investigation into the chief's role in the August traffic stop, but a city spokesperson would not disclose its outcome, the same report noted.
Back in Sunrise, the Inspector General's finding stops short of resolving what happens next. The dossier of evidence reviewed does not establish the outcome of the Florida Commission on Ethics referral, nor what became of Guzman's license status following the stop. For now, the case stands as a formal ethics finding against a sitting deputy mayor, with the next move resting with state regulators.
