In a not-so-surprising move by Malibu City Council member Skylar Peak, the subject of a Recall, and City manager Reva Feldman, the subject of 4000+ signature petition appealing to Council to have her removed, the two were caught redhanded sending an unauthorized letter on City letterhead to Supervisor Sheila Kuehl on April 5th.
The letter was part of a premediated plan to push Peak and Feldman’s personal agendas, and to subvert the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department’s power over their personnel. The controversial move only added fuel to an already contentious relationship existing between the Board of Supervisors, and newly elected Sheriff Alex Villanueva, who took over for former Sheriff Jim McDonnell in January.
The actions by Peak and Feldman were also a clear abuse of authority, and a violation of numerous Council policies, one of which states the following:
“Council members, when representing the City in either oral or written communications, shall represent the policies established by the City Council majority. Any individual or personal opinion or reflection shall not be included in any official city council communique.”
Council member Skylar Peak appealed to Supervisor Kuehl (in the letter) requesting the reinstatement of two officers who formally served the Malibu community. His reason? Their reinstatement is so “critical” to the Public Safety of our community that he (and Feldman) felt it was necessary to reach out to Supervisor Kuehl to undermine the authority of the head of one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the country.
Boundaries anyone?
“In January, without any communication to the city managers of the five cities served by LHS, the new Sheriff assigned Lieutenant Chuck Becerra as Acting Captain, transferred Lieutenant James Royal and Sergeant Tui Wright to other stations…” Peak wrote in the letter. “… during this critical period in our city’s history, it makes no sense to not have these experienced and dedicated officers working in our area as they are intimately knowledgeable about Malibu and can diffuse situations better than others who have not worked here for a long time, if ever.” Peak continued.
So basically, what it boils down to is, Council member Peak and City Manager Feldman put their personal opinions, and desire for power, in front of the facts.
They purposely glossed over the fact that multiple officers who have served the community for many years are still on duty serving the community. However, Peak and Feldman seem especially distressed over the absence of two officers in particular. Why? Apparently they are very passionate about wanting these specific officers to return to Malibu in the name of Public Safety (as they say). However, there is a very important reason the officers were transferred, a very sticky detail Peak and Feldman seem to want to ignore…They are are under Internal Affairs investigation for their part in covering up the Malibu Creek State Park Shootings and the failure to inform the public – which led to the murder of a father camping with his children!
Does that seem like a good public safety move you?
Of course NOT.
The high ranking officers, one a former Malibu liaison and the other, the former head of Malibu Search and Rescue were transferred out of the Lost Hills Sheriff Department on January 22, 2018, a little over a week after Beaudette’s widow filed a $90 million lawsuit against the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and the State.
The failure to warn the public of the shootings, and the law enforcement cover-up, was exposed by The Local on our Facebook page the night Tristan Beaudette was shot in the head as he lay next to his two young daughters. Victims of previous shootings in and around Malibu Creek State Park came out on a post warning the public that a Tesla was shot at 4 days before Beaudette’s murder, at approximately the same time and place on Malibu Canyon Rd. The thread went viral as victims told harrowing stories of their experiences, and shortly thereafter, major media outlets followed up and the shootings making global headlines.
The letter, drafted by Feldman (see screenshot) for Peak on City letterhead, not only shows inappropriate behavior, but also a sense of entitlement. The power hungry duo followed up the letter with even more inappropriate actions. They individually called to the office of the Sheriff Villanueva DEMANDING his personal cell phone number!
Thankfully, there are a few levels of security you have to pass through to get a hold of the personal cell phone number of the head of one largest law enforcement agencies in the nation. Let’s just say, based on my source’s information, and the demeanor Peak and Feldman expressed, they didn’t even pass level one.
Peak and Feldman clearly have no idea what true public safety is, and what this community needs as evidenced in this letter, and their actions (or lack thereof) during the Woolsey Fire.
In fact to prove just how out of touch Peak and Feldman are, here are just a few of the many important improvements made by Lost Hills for the Public Safety of our community since the personnel changes were made in January (and this is the short list):
- The issue of Dolphin Stickers to residents to make re-entry faster and more efficient during soft closures on roadways.
- More Deputies and Volunteers on Patrol to get ready for summer months and increased law enforcement presence on PCH.
- LASD/LOST HILLS is currently working a traffic plan dividing the City into 4-5 segments for deputies and VOPs to alleviate traffic congestions and promote smoother traffic flow.
- Immediately after a Public Safety Commission meeting and hearing the parents talk about how unsafe the library was, LASD/Lost Hills called in a Mental Health expert from the County and also scheduled a thorough clean-up of Legacy Park.
Also, LASD has increased patrols to in relation to gang activity and tagging happening all over Malibu and Topanga. Two major arrests of MS-13 gang members were made since January, one in Topanga and the other near Agoura/Calabasas.
The Corral Beach tunnels across from Malibu Seafood have been overtaken by gang tagging and is not far from where the body of Miguel Guardado was found March 11th. As soon as LASD/Lost Hills was contacted regarding the sighting of gang members entering the tunnel close to the murder scene, they responded quickly and swiftly.
So why the desperation the reinstate the two officers?
Could it be Peak and Feldman have realized they lost their power at LASD now with the officers departure and McDonnell no longer in control?
Looks like the schoolyard bullies (Peak and Feldman) are a little upset they can longer shakedown the kids on the playground for their lunch money. And now that Sheriff Villanueva has taken over, they no longer have their hands in the LASD cookie jar.
Desperate means, calls for desperate measures – and that is clearly what the letter to Supervisor Kuehl represents. Pure desperation.
Aside from a complete failure to follow protocol, and to further impress upon Peak and Feldman’s complete lack of professionalism, they “forgot” to include Sheriff Villanueva in the cc when when the unauthorized letter (attempting to undermine him) went out.
That’s o.k., we took care of it for you Skylar and Reva. You’re welcome.
The Local also learned that Mayor Jefferson Wagner had no knowledge the letter was being drafted (although he was cc’d on it).
That’s a big no-no to not inform the mayor when you are attempting to communicate with government officials (City policy #38).
As for the other members of Council, and City Attorney Hogin, The Local is very disappointed we did get not a response to the email regarding such outrageous and disrespectful behavior from Peak and Feldman towards the head of a government agency and how the City expected to handle it.
So far, Peak and Feldman have gotten away with what seems like a simple slap on the hand.
Which smells of a cover-up… and you know what happens when The Local smells a cover-up.
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