Ex-LA fire chief sues the city over her firing after the Palisades Fire
ABC News
The former Los Angeles fire chief has filed a lawsuit against the city, alleging that her ouster was part of an orchestrated effort to smear her conduct and decision-making so Mayor Karen Bass could avoid accountability for the most destructive wildfir...
LOS ANGELES -- The former Los Angeles fire chief has filed a lawsuit against the city, alleging that her ouster was part of an orchestrated effort to smear her conduct and decision-making so Mayor Karen Bass could avoid accountability for the most destructive wildfire in LA history.
Bass sacked Kristin Crowley a month after the January 2025 Palisades Fire, and her dismissal was followed by finger-pointing between the ex-chief and City Hall over the blaze's devastation and the fire department’s funding. In March of that year, Crowley lost an appeal to the City Council to win back her job.
Crowley's lawsuit filed last week alleges that Bass spread misinformation to protect the mayor's political reputation following the fire. The mayor's office didn't immediately comment on the lawsuit. A message seeking comment was also sent to the LA City Attorney’s office.
Crowley accuses the first-term Democrat of trying to distract from criticism over being in Africa for a presidential delegation when the blaze started, even though weather reports had warned of dangerous wildfire conditions in the days before she left.
Bass made statements to shift blame, “including falsely claiming that she was not aware of the nationally anticipated weather event, falsely claiming that the LAFD’s budget was not cut, and falsely claiming that LAFD’s resources would have supported an additional 1,000 firefighters to fight the blaze,” the lawsuit alleges.
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