In a department drowning in scandal, buried misconduct, and zero public confidence, Sheriff Robert Luna just slid Malibu/Lost Hills Captain Jennifer Seetoo into a shiny new Commander title – and did it with all the subtlety of a backroom deal in a burning building.
Let’s be real: this wasn’t a promotion, it was a political payoff dressed up as leadership.
The move came just as the Malibu/Lost Hills Station is embroiled in yet another bombshell scandal, this one involving retired Lieutenant Jim Braden, once highly respected in the Malibu community, and among the station line staff… until March 28th when the wheels came off the wagon and his shady activity was under a bright spotlight.
On March 28th, Braden was reportedly stabbed after allegedly refusing to pay a sex worker.
That’s just the beginning of what we are now learning is one of a series of disturbing incidents involving Braden, actively being covered up by the Lost Hills Station over the last three years.
The Braden Bombshells
The stabbing incident didn’t just expose Braden’s double life; it kicked open a door to a vault of dirty secrets buried under Seetoo’s command. Multiple sources say Braden was involved in a DUI incident that responding deputies attempted to handle… until they realized who was behind the wheel. According to those inside the station, OPS Lieutenant Dustin Carr ordered body-worn cameras shut off, and Braden’s vehicle was mysteriously “cleaned up” at the station. You know, standard operating procedure—if you’re trying to obstruct justice.
In case anyone thought this was an isolated case, Braden’s ongoing criminal behavior was documented in an internal bulletin from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department. Which begs the question…how many incidents were swept under the rug while Seetoo looked the other way—or worse, participated in the cover-ups?
Fire, Ego, and a Breakdown in Command
Seetoo’s judgment wasn’t just questionable behind the desk—it was also a failure in the field. During the Palisades and Eaton fires, a pissing match of egos broke out between agencies, with Cal Fire’s red hats clashing with LASD command over who was in charge. The Rose Bowl Incident Management Team had to step in and assert authority, citing potential criminal elements behind the fires that could lead to murder charges.
And who muddied the chain of command? You guessed it… Captain Seetoo, who reportedly inserted herself into IMT operations – a direct violation of IMT protocol. According to sources, her interference caused confusion and chaos during a life-threatening emergency.
As Cal Fire reportedly “drove right over her and the Palisades IMT,” the Rose Bowl team had to clean up the command mess – because apparently, Seetoo couldn’t even follow her own department’s playbook.
And instead of discipline, Sheriff Luna decided Seetoo was more deserving of an award for “bravery” during the Palisades Fire response.
Arrive Alive
Shortly after four Pepperdine students were tragically killed on PCH, Seetoo launched a public safety campaign to much fanfare. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Malibu Search and Rescue – under her command – was launching a craft beer collab with a local brewery.
The cans were slapped with the silhouette of LASD’s Air 5 rescue helicopter – because nothing says “we take public safety seriously” like using a life-saving aircraft emblazoned on a beer can served at an event inside Malibu Creek State Park – where drunk drivers would potentially leave drunk, turning on to the canyon roads where accidents are routinely airlifted out by the very team now hawking the public safety branded craft beer. The level of ignorance, and the timing, is mind numbing. Literally and figuratively.
The Coup No One Talks About
Seetoo’s fast-tracked promotion has long been a point of controversy. In May 2022, council members from multiple cities told the Malibu Daily News they were completely blindsided by her appointment as Captain. Four out of five city managers had reportedly indicated their choice was Acting Captain Joe Fender.
So what happened? According to city insiders, Malibu City Council members Mikke Pierson and Karen Farrer pulled a political stunt, pressuring city managers to flip their support to Seetoo – without input from their councils. The move reeked of a backroom deal, and the fallout was immediate: frustration, distrust, and disillusionment.
Meanwhile, during the compromised Captain selection process, Seetoo was suing the department for discrimination – because allegedly she wasn’t getting promoted fast enough.
Communication is Key
At the PCH Taskforce meeting held in the wake of the horrific crash that killed four Pepperdine students, L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath offered praise that aged like milk. “We know you are working closely with the city,” Horvath gushed to Lost Hills Station Captain Jennifer Seetoo.
Except… she actually wasn’t.
Clearly, Horvath missed the memo—assuming one even existed—about the calculated communication blackout Seetoo orchestrated to exclude Malibu officials from a critical press conference regarding the fatal crash. The briefing was held at Lost Hills Station, 19 miles from Malibu City Hall, and city officials were given a whole seven minutes’ notice via email. That’s not “working closely”—that’s sabotage.
Captain Seetoo’s move wasn’t just a logistical fumble—it was a deliberate power play, one that snubbed Malibu leadership and made a mockery of the $15 million contract the city pays annually for LASD services. Apparently, the price tag doesn’t come with common courtesy.
Malibu Mayor Steve Uhring was justifiably livid, blasting the department’s opaque handling of the tragedy:
“I was not getting information from the city staff or the Sheriff… we have some communication issues that we need to learn how to deal with with the Sheriff,” Uhring told Malibu Daily News.
Let’s be clear: this wasn’t a simple scheduling snafu. It was a slap in the face to a grieving community and its elected officials—one more example of the growing dysfunction between LASD leadership and the city they’re supposed to serve.
While Malibu’s elected officials were iced out of the press conference, Captain Jennifer Seetoo made sure her favorite PCH safety influencers had front-row seats. Multiple activists she’s cozied up to were given ample notice to attend the high-profile event—because when it comes to image control, Seetoo plays favorites like a seasoned politician.
Meanwhile, Malibu Daily News was tipped off by sources at LASD HQ—not Seetoo herself—at 9 a.m. that a press conference would be held at noon. That’s how the public and the press found out: not through local coordination, but through backchannel scrambling.
And once the cameras rolled, Seetoo wasted no time shamelessly plugging her station’s social media—yes, those were her actual words—as if Instagram clout could erase a legacy of inaction. The Lost Hills Station feed had suddenly become flooded with posts touting speeding citations and impounded cars in the days following the tragedy. A PR blitz disguised as enforcement.
But residents weren’t buying the photo-op policing. On social media, outrage boiled over. The consensus was scathing:
“Where was the Sheriff’s Department before these young women were killed?”
The 180-degree shift in enforcement didn’t inspire trust—it exposed a department in damage control mode, trying to save face after failing to save lives.
Back in 2019, communication – or the lack thereof – was already a glaring issue for Captain Seetoo, who at the time was a lieutenant tasked with overseeing comms at Lost Hills Station during the first fire season post-Woolsey.
On the night of Thursday, October 10, 2019, as the Wendy Fire was being reported across social media, panic began to spread faster than the flames. What locals didn’t know – because no one bothered to tell them—was that firefighting efforts had successfully halted the blaze near Point Mugu State Park.
But residents in Decker Canyon could see flames glowing in the distance before 10 p.m. and heard nothing from authorities. No alerts. No wind forecasts. No preparation instructions. Just radio silence.
Neither Lost Hills Station nor the City of Malibu offered a shred of real-time guidance. So, like clockwork, those with livestock and large animals – who had been burned before, literally and figuratively – took matters into their own hands, organizing voluntary evacuations in the dark with zero help from the people who are supposed to protect them.
It was a preview of what’s become a pattern: when crisis hits, the only thing Malibu residents can rely on is each other – not their $15 million-a-year LASD contract.
Anxiety reached a fever pitch with residents posting on social media their concerns over the flames visible from the Wendy Fire, and smoke filling the canyons from different directions. The City of Malibu sent out only one alert at 8:23 p.m., and no further updates as flames became more visible from canyons looking down the coastline.
Lt. Seetoo was contacted multiple times regarding updates as there was no information from the station posted on social media. She stated there were no fires in the canyon and that the smoke was coming from fires burning in the San Fernando Valley. Malibu Daily News strongly suggested to Lt. Seetoo that the station needs to post updates to calm residents who were anticipating evacuations based on the smoke filling the air in the canyons.
After three solid days of failing to update the community, photos of the station’s Twitter account was sent directly to then-Sheriff Alex Villanueva. The posts clearly showed the blatant failure to communicate with residents during a critical time and the first fire season after Woolsey. Shortly after, Lt. Seetoo was transferred to the West Hollywood station.
Even more startling is that Captain Seetoo was Acting Captain of the station during the Woolsey Fire and had full knowledge and hands-on experience witnessing the magnitude and the destruction these wildfires cause, and yet she still failed to take control of the situation during the first fire season after Woolsey.
Villanueva took the issue very seriously and mandated station personnel to go through social media training. In 2020, Lt. Chuck Becerra was promoted to Captain taking command of the Lost Hills station. Becerra contacted Malibu Daily News to help facilitate introductions with key members in the community who could help with emergency preparedness and assistance developing a better overall messaging strategy to reach more residents during a disaster or critical incident.
A comprehensive social media plan was devised including tagging all local media at the end of every emergency post to ensure the messaging was reached as many residents as possible (the same strategy was also suggested to Villanueva for LASD HQ social media. An internal power struggle stopped it dead in its dead tracks which is unfortunate as it would have been viewed as an olive branch to the press, which was much needed at the time).
The strategy was successfully implemented at the station level and continued until The Current Report and Malibu Daily News articles exposed Sheriff Luna’s failures, and Captain Seetoo’s failures at the Lost Hills Station under her command.. Shortly after the articles were published, The Local Malibu and Malibu Daily News social media accounts were excluded from all Lost Hills Station emergency posts.
Including the post notifying the community of the October 17th crash that killed the four young women.
BEFORE
AFTER
A purposeful (and retaliatory) act, not in the best interests of the safety of the community and contrary to the statement Captain Seetoo made at the PCH Task Force meeting: “We must do this together as a community. We must do this together to save lives.” she said
A Commander of What, Exactly?
During, and at the end of Seetoo’s watch, Malibu/Lost Hills has descended into internal chaos. Complaints were mounting. The Malibu/Lost Hills region was losing faith under her failed leadership, and yet, the May 10th fundraising event in support of Sheriff Luna’s re-election bid hails her as “Malibu’s most powerful community leader.”
Powerful? Not by anyone actually paying attention.
Final Thought: Promotions or Payoffs?
Sheriff Luna may think quietly promoting Commander Seetoo will deflect attention from the department’s implosion, but the facts say otherwise. Cover-ups, chaos, cronyism—this isn’t leadership. It’s a masterclass in corruption.
The 2026 race for Los Angeles County Sheriff isn’t just pivotal — it’s a five-alarm political reckoning. Sheriff Robert Luna announced his re-election bid last November, shamelessly asking for four more years after a term defined by scandal, spin, and strategic cowardice. Across LA, one question echoes louder than a siren: how much more damage can one sheriff do?
The answer? A hell of a lot.
Another four years under Luna wouldn’t just be a step backward – it would be the final nail in the coffin of what was once the most respected sheriff’s department in the nation. Under his failed leadership, LASD isn’t being reformed – it’s being dismantled, one tone-deaf decision at a time.
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