Former LAFD Chief Sues City and Mayor
Former Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley is suing the city, alleging she was scapegoated by Mayor Karen Bass for the Palisades Fire. The lawsuit claims the mayor unfairly blamed Crowley for the incident, leading to her removal.
- The Palisades Fire, which began on January 7, 2025, was the most destructive in Los Angeles city history, killing 12 people and destroying 6,837 structures. - Mayor Karen Bass fired Crowley on February 21, 2025, six weeks after the fire started. The mayor stated that Crowley had sent 1,000 firefighters home on the morning the fire broke out and refused to prepare a critical after-action report. - Crowley's lawsuit alleges that the mayor is scapegoating her to distract from criticism that Bass was in Africa on a presidential delegation when the fire started, despite weather reports warning of dangerous conditions. - The lawsuit, filed on February 20, 2026, accuses the city of retaliation and seeks unspecified economic and compensatory damages. A spokesperson for the mayor's office has called the lawsuit meritless. - Crowley, a 26-year veteran of the department, was appointed in 2022 as the LAFD's first female and first openly LGBTQ+ fire chief. - Prior to her dismissal, Crowley had publicly raised concerns about a $17.6 million cut to the LAFD's operational budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, which her lawsuit claims was the true reason for her firing. - After an unsuccessful appeal to the City Council to be reinstated, Crowley accepted a lower-ranking position as Assistant Chief of the LAFD's Operations Valley Bureau.
