Liberty PD lieutenant fired after investigation into contact with father in near-drowning case

A lieutenant from the Liberty Police Department was dismissed following an internal probe into his interactions with the father of three children involved in a near-drowning incident. The incident took place on the family's property in Liberty, Texas, where the three children were nearly drowned in a pond. Authorities revealed that Lt. Ramiro Lozano had been in contact with Domingo Quintana, the father of the children, who was at the time incarcerated on unrelated animal cruelty charges. According to the police department's social media announcement, although no criminal charges were filed against Lozano, he was terminated for his "poor judgment and questionable decisions." The investigation uncovered that Lozano had visited Quintana in the Liberty County Jail and, after Quintana was released on bond, Lozano waited for him and drove him home. This breach of conduct was deemed significant enough to warrant his firing, following the completion of the internal investigation and the exhaustion of Lozano's appeal process. Authorities emphasized the department’s commitment to high conduct standards both on and off duty, stating that they would continue to respond decisively when these standards aren’t met. The decision to terminate Lozano was made in accordance with established personnel policies and due process procedures. Separately from the animal cruelty case involving Quintana, the father had contacted emergency services in October, reporting concerns that his wife may have attempted to harm their three children. All three children and their mother survived the near-drowning event on their 300-acre property. At present, the children's mother remains hospitalized, and the State of Texas has placed the children into temporary custody, assigning them to relatives. This development has also led to a wider investigation into local police conduct and child protective services involvement, as the circumstances surrounding the near-drowning and the father's unrelated charges have raised community concerns. The Liberty County Sheriff's Office has confirmed Quintana's arrest on animal cruelty charges, separate from the child welfare situation. The case continues to be monitored closely by local authorities, with the welfare of the children and the integrity of the police department as key areas of focus.