Former Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley is accusing Mayor Karen Bass of putting her reelection ambitions ahead of the truth in the aftermath of the Palisades Fire, alleging in a new defamation lawsuit that Bass misrepresented key failures that preceded the disaster.
Crowley, who led the LAFD from March 2022 until February 2025, was the department’s chief during the deadly January 2025 fires. In the lawsuit, obtained by The California Post, she says she had repeatedly warned Bass and the Los Angeles City Council about staffing shortages, limited resources and other department needs through detailed reports and budget requests.
According to the complaint, Bass was out of town when the Palisades Fire broke out and did not inform key city officials, including Crowley, of her absence.
Once the full scale of the destruction became clear — with 12 people dead and damages reaching into the billions of dollars — Crowley alleges that Bass moved to deflect responsibility and place blame elsewhere.
“She sought to avoid accountability by shifting blame and lying — including by falsely claiming that she was not aware of the nationally anticipated weather event, falsely claiming that the LAFD’s budget was not cut, falsely claiming that LAFD’s resources would have supported an additional 1,000 firefighters to fight the blaze, and falsely claiming LAFD’s operational fire engines were not used on January 7, 2025 — claims contradicted by public records and Bass’ own prior statements and/or conduct,” the lawsuit said.
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The filing further claims that Bass continued making the allegedly false statements after launching her reelection campaign. “These were not mistakes but instead were and continue to be a deliberate strategy to mislead the public and divert criticism of Bass’ decisions, in her bid to win the election.”
At the center of the lawsuit is a broader budget dispute between Bass and Crowley. The complaint alleges that the LAFD’s operating budget for 2024-25 was reduced by $17.6 million and that 61 positions were eliminated.
Crowley also says she met with Bass in the mayor’s office in August 2024 to discuss persistent problems affecting the department’s emergency ambulances, fire engines and fire trucks, according to the lawsuit.
Bass also allegedly knew about dangerous winds in Los Angeles when she decided to leave the country for Ghana before the Palisades Fire — a trip she didn’t tell Crowley was happening, the lawsuit said.
“Bass chose to conceal that she would be out of the country from Crowley, and others, while knowing of an impending dangerous weather event in the City,” the lawsuit said.
The Post reached out to Bass’ office for comment.
