Former LA fire chief slams mayor's budget cuts in tort claim

Former Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley has filed a tort claim against the city and Mayor Karen Bass, alleging defamation, retaliation and negligence related to Crowley's public disclosure earlier this year that the department's budget had been cut by $17.6 million.

The filing is a precursor to a lawsuit.

Crowley, a 25-year Fire Department veteran, asserts her firing by Bass stemmed not from poor job performance, but from exposing the department's critical underfunding, staffing shortages and aging infrastructure. She points to Bass' $23 million proposed budget cut and elimination of 71 positions in April 2024 as undermining public safety. Ultimately the city council reduced the amount of the cut to $17.6 million and the number of lost positions to 61.

"Bass' actions and statements against Crowley were solely for Bass' personal gain at the expense of Angelinos, designed to scare city employees from telling truths that Bass did not want exposed and to misdirect public scrutiny of Bass' mistakes to Crowley, a career firefighter who has dedicated her life to the safety of Angelinos," the complaint read.

Crowley is represented by Genie Harrison and Mia Munro of Genie Harrison Law Firm in Los Angeles.

"Former Fire Chief Crowley's tort claim presents her extensive advocacy efforts to obtain the funding and resources the LAFD needed to fulfill its public safety mission. It also shows Mayor Bass' repeated refusals to provide those resources," Harrison said in a news release on Wednesday. "The citizens of Los Angeles deserve to know the truth about how under-resourced the LAFD has become and how that came to be. Kristin Crowley has put herself on the line yet again, this time to give the citizens of Los Angeles and its firefighters the truth -- and the power to create change."

Harrison declined to comment further in a phone call.

In an email on Wednesday, David J. Michaelson, counsel to the mayor, said: "We will not comment on an ongoing personnel claim. Mayor Bass is focused on the city's preparations for the hottest temperatures of the year and the potential for regional fire danger."

The rift deepened between Crowley and Bass after the January Palisades Fire, when Bass, who initially praised the fire department, later blamed Crowley amid criticism of her own absence abroad. Following Crowley's on-air remarks confirming the budget's impact, she was removed as fire chief on Feb. 21.

The claim alleges that Bass engaged in a public smear campaign through several false accusations, which Crowley disputed. Specifically, she denied refusing an after-action report for the Palisades Fire, noting that the Fire Safety Research Institute was selected for the review rather than the fire department.

Crowley also rejected claims of sending home 1,000 firefighters, explaining the department lacked vehicles due to budget cuts and clarifying that all 40 available engines were staffed and operational. Crowley disputed the accusation of failing to notify the mayor's office, emphasizing that standard warnings were issued and Bass herself acknowledged the unusual weather event publicly.

"Through this filing, Crowley [...] demands that Bass immediately cease and desist her defamatory and illegal public smear campaign of Crowley, retract her false statements about Crowley, and apologize for lying about Crowley -- a dedicated public servant who has, for decades, risked her life to keep Angelinos safe, and as Fire Chief, fought to keep the LAFD firefighters safe," the complaint read.