On May 10, the same politicians who fumbled Malibu into chaos – Mayor Doug Stewart, Mikke Pierson, Karen Farrer, Paul Grisanti, and Lou La Monte—will gather at a private estate to raise money for Sheriff Robert Luna, a man whose tenure has been defined by disaster, deflection, and death. It’s a perfect match. Failed leaders endorsing a failed sheriff.
But this isn’t just another tone-deaf Malibu cocktail party. It’s a twisted celebration of incompetence, corruption, and systemic collapse. Because while these washed-up politicos pour wine and rewrite history, the LASD, under Robert Luna’s leadership, is rotting at its core—and taxpayers are paying the price for it.
Ironically, the invite itself violates election code. Under California law and Los Angeles County regulations, it is generally prohibited for a sheriff or any peace officer to engage in political activities, including soliciting campaign funds, while in uniform.
Did anyone notice? I did.
According to multiple sources, including the FPPC, Sheriff Luna and Malibu/List Hills Captain Jennifer Seetoo are violating the following election codes by appearing in uniform on an invite to a political fundraiser:
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California Elections Code § 18320 prohibits any officer or employee of a local agency from engaging in political activities during working hours or while in uniform.
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California Elections Code § 18544 makes it unlawful for any person wearing a peace officer’s uniform to be stationed at or near a polling place without written authorization from the appropriate elections official.
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Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Policy explicitly states that department members are prohibited from participating in political activities while in uniform.
If a sheriff includes an image of themselves in uniform on a campaign fundraiser invitation or appears in uniform at such an event, it may be considered a violation of the above statutes and policies. Such actions could be interpreted as using the authority of the office to influence political outcomes, which is expressly prohibited.
MIA MORE TIMES THAN YOU CAN COUNT
When the January wildfires exploded across the foothills in January, devouring entire neighborhoods and killing 22 people, Luna was once again missing in action. According to extensive reporting by The Current Report, the Sheriff’s Department failed to deploy evacuation personnel in time during the Eaton fire which led to 17 deaths, despite five days of advance warnings and field intelligence. Deputies weren’t mobilized. Evacuation orders were delayed. Resources were misallocated. And the result was one of the deadliest fire tragedies in L.A. County history. Luna never accepted responsibility. He never offered a public plan to fix what went wrong. He simply disappeared – again. But Eaton wasn’t an anomaly. It was the consequence of a department unraveling under weak, performative leadership.
When President Trump toured the Palisades fire devastation and spoke to LA City and County leaders was in town to survey the devastation just days after his inauguration, it was a rare opportunity for the head of the largest Sheriff’s Department in the country to engage with the President about LA County’s disaster response needs, and the President’s main objective was to assess the damage firsthand and how the federal government could expedite help to the area.
While a significant portion of LA County was still in chaos, Sheriff Luna skipped the meeting with the president and instead attended the annual Peace Officers Professional Association (PPOA) retreat in Carlsbad with the intention securing financial backing for his re-election campaign.
With another potentially dangerous weather event approaching that could trigger mudslides in burn scar areas, this left many, especially those who noticed his absence at the meeting with the president, to question his commitment to managing the county’s disaster response.
Former Sheriff Alex Villanueva took to X (formerly Twitter) to publicly criticize Luna, accusing him of disrespecting the President and failing to adequately represent the largest sheriff’s department in the nation during such a critical time.
Villanueva also condemned Luna’s decision to send the Assistant Sheriff of Custody Operations in his place, calling it an unacceptable move given the stakes.
“Luna’s absence at the meeting with President Trump shows a lack of leadership during a crisis,” Villanueva wrote. “The citizens of LA County deserve better representation, especially in moments of disaster.”
In 2020, as Chief of the Long Beach Police Department, Luna earned the nickname “Bunker Bob” for his absence of leadership and gross mismanagement of officers in the field during the “George Floyd” protests and rioting. It was then-Sheriff Alex Villanueva who saw what was happening on the news and deployed with 50 deputies to take control of the city. The population of the city of Long Beach is equivalent to roughly two to three of LASD’s patrol stations jurisdictions. Although it was obvious Luna took on more than he could handle when he took office in 2022, Luna’s handling of every aspect of the Eaton fire specifically, shows he is way out of his league.
Since taking office, Luna has overseen an unprecedented staffing collapse within the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. By 2025, LASD had lost more than 2,400 sworn and civilian personnel, crippling the department’s ability to respond to emergencies, patrol communities, and maintain even basic public safety. Response times have surged. Morale has cratered. Luna’s response? Denial, PR spin… and the latest attempt to quietly bury the most recent scandal unfolding at the Malibu/Lost Hills Station.
Most recently, a high-level cover-up involving retired Lieutenant Jim Braden—once considered a pillar of the community and the department’s Malibu liaison—has been dragged into the spotlight. On March 25th, Braden was reportedly stabbed after allegedly refusing to pay a sex worker for services.
But the scandal didn’t stop there. The incident cracked open a vault of corruption at Malibu/Lost Hills Station, revealing even more cover-ups tied to Braden. Sources say deputies once responded to a DUI involving Braden, only to be allegedly ordered by OPS Lieutenant Dustin Carr to shut off their body-worn cameras after realizing who was behind the wheel. Braden’s vehicle was quietly hauled back to the station and scrubbed clean—literally and figuratively.
Adding insult to injury, Braden’s disturbing criminal behavior over the past three years was documented in an internal bulletin issued by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department—raising serious questions about just how many incidents were buried under Captain Jennifer Seetoo’s command.
Multiple sources familiar with internal operations say tensions erupted between agencies during the Palisades and Eaton fire incidents. Friction emerged between Cal Fire’s “red hats” and LASD personnel, particularly over who had incident command authority. The Rose Bowl Incident Management Team (IMT), an elite LASD unit, had to step in and assert jurisdiction -citing the potential criminal nature of the fires and the likelihood of murder charges should arson be confirmed.
According to the source, Malibu/Lost Hills Captain Jennifer Seetoo inserted herself into the fire response – even though IMTs are explicitly designed to act independently from local station captains. Her involvement reportedly caused significant disruption and blurred the chain of command.
As a result of the confusion, Cal Fire reportedly “drove right over her and the Palisades IMT,” forcing the Rose Bowl IMT to intervene and “clear things up.” The source described the situation as driven by ego clashes and a lack of understanding of IMT protocols—a costly distraction during a critical incident.
Ironically, Sheriff Robert Luna, equally incapable of managing emergency operations as evidenced during the failed Eaton Fire evacuations that lead to 17 deaths, Luna proudly presented an award for Captain Seetoo’s “bravery” during the Palisades Fire.
It should be noted that Seetoo and her husband were big donors to Luna’s campaign in 2022.
Shortly after four Pepperdine students were tragically killed by a speeding motorist on PCH, Captain Jennifer Seetoo made a high-profile push for road safety. But behind the scenes, under her supervision, Malibu Search and Rescue—a nonprofit operating under the LASD—was busy launching a beer collaboration with a local brewery. The cans were emblazoned with the silhouette of Air 5, the Sheriff’s Department rescue helicopter, turning a symbol of emergency response into a marketing gimmick.
For a grieving community, it was a slap in the face. Even worse, the decision to partner with an alcohol company was especially tone-deaf, considering the majority of Malibu Search and Rescue missions involve alcohol-related accidents on canyon roads. The limited-edition beer was even scheduled to be served at an event in Malibu Creek State Park—raising the very real possibility that attendees could end up needing rescue from the very team promoting the product. It was a reckless move, and a stunning lapse in judgment by Seetoo and the agency she commands.
In May 2022, council members from multiple cities contacted the Malibu Daily News stating they were blindsided by the decision made by their City Managers and unaware that Jennifer Seetoo “was even being interviewed or they would have spoken up”. City managers from at least 4 out of the 5 cities intimated to their council members and Acting Captain Joe Fender that he was their choice for Captain at the station.
Sources inside the department told Malibu Daily News it is rumored that at the time, then Lt. Seetoo brazenly sued the department alleging discrimination even after having been promoted (but clearly not fast enough to her liking) to the Captain’s position.
City and department sources told Malibu Daily News that Malibu City Council member Mikke Pierson and Karen Farrer, orchestrated a coup, pressuring city managers from the four other cities to change their choice from Acting Captain Fender to Lt. Seetoo without discussing the change with council members (who oversee the city manager). Most council members were unaware she was interviewing for the position and/or made aware at the last minute, or after the fact.
The station, under the command of Captain Seetoo, is mired in internal turmoil and mounting complaints. Under her watch, Malibu is less safe.
Yet the May 10th invite shamelessly describes Seetoo as “Malibu’s most powerful community leader”—a laughable claim that ignores the department’s implosion, internal rebellion, and the community’s growing disappointment in LASD’s leadership.
The Walking Dead of Malibu Politics
Doug Stewart, Malibu’s current mayor, was handed a golden opportunity to strengthen the city’s wildfire prevention strategy—complete with a private jet and a VIP tour of one of the nation’s top fire response companies. Instead? He ghosted the CEO and blew it off entirely, just months before the Palisades Fire incinerated our coastline. And that’s just the latest act in Stewart’s public safety sabotage tour. He also voted against giving Malibu more authority to implement safety measures on PCH—even after four Pepperdine students were killed by a speeding driver. So of course he’s headlining a fundraiser for Robert Luna—the most incompetent sheriff in LASD’s 175-year history. Makes perfect sense, right?
Enter Karen Farrer, Mikke Pierson, and Paul Grisanti – the first two who chose not to not seek re-election for obvious reasons (a guaranteed loss), or booted from office for selling out residents to special interests, are also shamelessly plugging this fundraiser to support Luna’s re-election despite the well-documented, historic failures during his tenure.
And let’s not forget Farrer and Pierson’s efforts manipulate the system to install a political puppet, and the most incompetent Captain in charge of public safety for the Malibu/Lost Hills region.
These current and former council members—who failed to protect Malibu’s coastline, economy, and public safety infrastructure—are now clinging to Sheriff Luna’s sinking ship in a desperate attempt to salvage what’s left of their political relevance.
You watched them ignore critical disaster preparedness and go after those who dared to sound the alarm. You saw their smear campaigns against reformers like Steve Uhring and Bruce Silverstein. And now, here they are again—backing a sheriff who skips disaster briefings, presides over metastasizing scandals, and brushes off a full-blown staffing crisis like it’s business as usual.
These aren’t endorsements – they’re insurance policies. A last-ditch attempt by irrelevant politicians to stay tethered to power, no matter how toxic, incompetent, or destructive it’s become. Now, the same people who helped gut the soul of Malibu want to hand Sheriff Luna another term – despite his abuse of power, the mass exodus of deputies under his watch, and his refusal to lead when lives were on the line. These aren’t isolated missteps. They’re the trademarks of a department in crisis – and a man who has no business wearing the badge.
The May 10 fundraiser isn’t just out of touch—it’s a tone-deaf celebration of political decay.
But the truth is out. The receipts are public. And this time, Malibu is watching.
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