Former Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley has field a legal claim against the city that accuses Mayor Karen Bass of an “orchestrated campaign of misinformation, defamation and relation” during and after the deadly January wildfire in Pacific Palisades.
Crowley was ousted in February as chief, but remained with the department at a lower rank, following public spat with the mayor as tensions rose over the response to the the Palisades Fire, the most destructive wildfire in Los Angeles history. Bass was overseas when the fire started on the night of Jan. 7 in a ferocious Santa Ana windstorm that fanned flames and embers in communities on the Los Angeles County coast.
The legal clam accuses Bass of shifting blame to Crowley for the response to the firestorm as Bass faced criticism for the visit to Ghana for a ceremony. A legal claim is a precursor to a civil lawsuit, part of a process under California law when lawsuits target a government entity.
NBLCA has reached out to the LA offices of the mayor, city clerk and city attorney office for comment.
“The claim sets out a pattern of dishonesty, scapegoating, and unlawful retaliation that destroyed the career of a 25-year public servant not because of any failure in her duties, but because she told the truth,” Crowley’s attorneys said in a statement.
Crowley told city leaders that the LAFD was underfunded, understaffed and not equipped to handle a large fire in the city. Crowley faced retaliation for those claims and warnings, and was removed as department chief, the legal claim said. Crowley’s attorneys said the mayor’s office “launched a smear campaign built on falsehoods.”
Tuesday’s meeting of the LA City Council was former LAFD chief Kristin Crowley’s opportunity to convince Council members that she has to keep her job, following the Mayor’s criticism of preparations for and the response to the Palisades Fire.
The claim demands a formal apology to Crowley, who went before the City Council to make the case that she should be reinstated as chief. In the end, the council voted 13-2 to receive and file the appeal, shelving the matter and effectively ending Crowley’s bid for reinstatement.
Bass lauded Crowley in the early hours of the fire, but said she later learned that an additional 1,000 firefighters could have been deployed on the day the Palisades Fire started. Bass also said Crowley refused to prepare a report on the fires.
Crowley said she recommended working in collaboration the Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI) on a post-fire report.
The claim alleges false statement over the after-action report, firefighter staffing levels and idled fire engines, and whether the mayor was notified of the severe winds.
During her 11-minute plea to the council, Crowley also addressed accusations about department staffing. She repeated statements that the department was limited because of fire engines that were sidelined for maintenance.
Crowley said budget cuts impacted mechanics and mainly affected fire engines and ambulances that needed repair.
She also refuted the mayor’s claims that she did not notify her office about the windstorm and potentially life-threatening wildfire conditions.
Twelve people died and nearly 7,000 homes were destroyed in the Palisades Fire.