4 minute read
Protecting Malibu
Photos By Emily Scher
By Judy Abel
Malibu’s chief law enforcement officer, Jennifer Seetoo, makes history as the first female captain of the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station.
Her career started at 18 years old as an unarmed custody assistant for the Sheriff’s Department. And from there, Jennifer Seetoo’s journey from a teenage jailer to captain at the nation’s largest law enforcement agency—a first for a woman—has been idiosyncratic.
It was the late 1990s, the sheriff’s department wasn’t hiring certified deputies so, instead, the young Jennifer Seetoo entered the LAPD Police Academy. Mid-training, she got a call from LASD inviting her return and hasn’t “looked back.” In 2019, Seetoo was named by State Senator Henry Stern as Woman of the Year. She accepted the honor on the capitol floor. And in May of 2021, the prepossessing peace officer was officially named to helm the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station that protects Malibu.
Now as the mother of two youngsters, Seetoo recalled always having “tremendous respect for law enforcement.”
Growing up in a single-parent household in a rough corner of Southern California, Hawaiian Gardens, the young Seetoo recalled being frightened by a “horrific event” that happened next door to her. Even today, her voice paused, exuding a past trauma she did not detail, while recalling the event.
“I remember the impact these law enforcement officers had in my life,” she said. “They would drive through our little driveway and flash their lights at night to let my brother and me know they were watching after us. That was my first memory with law enforcement: what peace they gave to me and my brother.”
Still, the young Seetoo did not have plans to enter the police force.
“I wanted to be a Laker girl, but didn’t make it,” the 25-year LASD veteran revealed without regret. “[This is] the most amazing,
exciting and fulling career I could have ever asked for.”
Her first assignment as a sworn deputy was difficult; at a men’s jail. Still, she’s glad to have had the opportunity to work the lockup before being assigned a street beat. In the jail, she spoke with gang members, learned about the criminal lifestyle and “life on the inside.”
On the street, Seetoo patrolled some rough neighborhoods.
However, with her training and partners she put those threats aside while “serving the community.” Today, her community is Malibu.
When Seetoo first landed in a leadership position in 2018, it was a tumultuous week. As number two in command, she suddenly found herself in charge, day one, when then Captain Josh Thai suffered a medical crisis. The next day, the Borderline shooting in nearby Thousand Oaks took 13 young lives. Among the victims were members of Seetoo’s church, a Pepperdine student and Ventura County Sheriff’s Deputy Ron Helus. It was a difficult time especially as a friend of the Thousand Oaks police chief. The very next day the Woolsey fire hit Lost Hill’s jurisdiction of Malibu, Westlake Village, Agoura Hills, Hidden Hills and Calabasas.
She and a lieutenant were caught in a frightening Woolsey firestorm, somehow escaping tragedy by blindly plowing through as embers rained down on their cruiser. These are the conditions her fellow deputies also faced. She praised their bravery especially at Seminole Springs where her department evacuated elderly residents from danger. The Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station along with other peace officers have continued to support the mobile home community with fundraisers since it was essentially wiped out.
“It’s been healing for the community and the first responders there,” Seetoo noted.
The deadly fire in Paradise also happened the same day as Woolsey. That weighed heavily on Seetoo who spent summers as a child there in the Northern California town and said, “the fires impacted me deeply.”
Living near Malibu, Seetoo herself was evacuated for a week while at the time working 30 hour stretches for months following the fire due to repopulation, rain and mudslides. She now wants to ensure that Malibu is prepared for the next disaster.
