Former Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley filed a lawsuit last week against the city, alleging that Mayor Karen Bass has waged a "campaign of retaliation" against her since the devastating Palisades Fire tore through an affluent neighborhood more than one year ago.
The complaint, filed with the Los Angeles County Superior Court on Feb. 20, accuses the city of retaliation in violation of the Labor Code and the California Constitution. According to a tort claim filed last August, she's seeking more than $25,000 in emotional damages. The new complaint demands a jury trial.
Bass removed Crowley as chief last February in the aftermath of the Palisades Fire. A 26-year veteran of the department, she was named chief by former Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2022, several months before Bass was elected.
At the time of her removal, Bass cited Crowley's apparent refusal to conduct an after-action report in a timely manner, which would examine LAFD's response to the Palisades Fire. She also claimed that Crowley sent crews home on Jan. 7 of last year, the day the fire started and soon spiraled out of control.
"We know that 1,000 firefighters that could have been on duty on the morning the fires broke out were instead sent home on Chief Crowley's watch," Bass said in a statement on Feb. 22, the day she officially removed Crowley.
Crowley has repeatedly denied these claims.
The denials were reiterated in Friday's lawsuit filings. Crowley asserts that she warned Bass and other city officials for years after she was hired in 2022.
"Each year as Fire Chief, she submitted numerous detailed reports and budget requests to the Board of Fire Commissioners, the City Council, and to Bass, showing how aging infrastructure, surging emergency calls, and shrinking staff left the city and firefighters at risk of harm," the complaint reads.
CBS LA has reached out to Mayor Bass and the city attorney for comment, but has yet to hear back as of Tuesday afternoon. Bass is not listed as a defendent in the lawsuit.
The suit describes the rising tensions between Crowley and Bass reaching a crescendo when the then-chief voiced concerns over the $17.6 million cut to the LAFD's operational budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. Crowley revealed the budget cuts to the media, including in a Jan. 10, 2025, interview with CBS News' Norah O'Donnell, which elicited a reaction from Bass, according to the former chief.
"I don't know why you had to do that." Bass allegedly said during an unscheduled meeting the day of the CBS News interview, according to Crowley's legal claim. "Normally, we are on the same page, and I don't know why you had to say stuff to the media."
The new lawsuit alleges that Bass removed Crowley from the top job at LAFD as retaliation for publicly discussing the budget cuts to the media.
"To Bass' disappointment, after Bass removed Crowley from her position as Fire Chief, Crowley did not retire and instead chose to continue to serve the City of Los Angeles, albeit in the lower position at the LAFD to which she was ultimately relegated due to Bass' retaliation," the suit reads. "Since then, Bass and the City have continued to engage in an ongoing retaliation campaign against Crowley, intentionally interfering with Crowley's ability to serve the LAFD and the City to her maximum abilities."
Crowley says she's been demoted several times since her February 2025 removal as chief. She was first placed in a field assignment as an Assistant Chief at the Operations Valley Bureau, but now works as Assistant Chief to a Special Duty position at the Risk, Health and Safety Division, a position located outside of LAFD Headquarters.