Former LA Fire Chief Sues Mayor Bass, Claiming Retaliation After Warning of Fire Budget Cuts
The lawsuit claims that Kristin Crowley will show that after announcing her bid for reelection, Bass continued to make false statements and concealed her being out of the country when the fire first broke out.
Legal Insurrection readers likely remember our coverage of the Great Los Angeles wildfires of 2025.
The Fire Chief at that time was Kristin Crowley, who was subsequently fired about one month later after repeatedly noting that Mayor Karen Bass had cut the Fire Department budget before the catastrophe.
In fact, about one month before the regional inferno, Crowley wrote a memo stating that the $18 million budget would result in “unprecedented operational challenges” that would hinder its ability to respond to large-scale emergencies such as wildfires.
“These budgetary reductions have adversely affected the department’s ability to maintain core operations, such as technology and communication infrastructure, payroll processing, training, fire prevention and community education,” Crowley wrote.
“The reduction in v-hours … has severely limited the department’s capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies, including wildfires, earthquakes, hazardous materials incidents and large public events,” Crowley wrote in the memo.
Now Crowley has filed a lawsuit against the city, alleging that Bass has waged a “campaign of retaliation” against her since those fires.
Crowley sued the city in February, alleging Bass “orchestrated a campaign of retaliation” and removed Crowley as fire chief to shift blame amid mounting criticism of the mayor’s decision to attend a ceremony in Ghana on Jan. 7 even as the deadly Palisades fire was spreading in extreme red-flag fire conditions.
Crowley’s new lawsuit Tuesday sues Bass personally for defamation. In it, she argues that comments the mayor made on the campaign trail aren’t protected by government immunity and that Bass should pay damages out of her own pocket. The former chief seeks unspecified economic and compensatory damages.
In the complaint, Crowley alleges that Bass spread misinformation to protect her own reputation on the campaign trail, “knowing that her statements about the Palisades Fire, about the LAFD’s resources and deployment decisions, and about Crowley, were false.”
Bass “sought to avoid accountability by shifting blame and lying — including by falsely claiming that she was not aware of the nationally anticipated weather event,” the suit says.
Former LAFD chief sues Bass, says mayor should pay out of pocket for campaign remarks https://t.co/qQCeVbEXmd
— Richard Winton (@LAcrimes) June 23, 2026
The lawsuit claims that Crowley will show that after announcing her bid for reelection, Bass continued to make false statements and concealed her being out of the country when the fire first broke out.
It also accuses Bass of “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.”
After announcing her bid for reelection, Bass continued to make the false statements, according to the lawsuit. “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.”
…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.
Ex-LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley sues Mayor Karen Bass for defamation after Palisades Fire feud and dismissal https://t.co/iagJWn7RIQ pic.twitter.com/UZGLmvGWWw
— New York Post (@nypost) June 23, 2026
We will see whether the media gives this lawsuit the level of attention it warrants. Given the serious public safety questions involved, from budget decisions to wildfire preparedness, Los Angeles residents deserve clear, thorough coverage so they can make an informed choice about their city’s leadership.
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
Can we invite the NorKs to nuke LA now or is that still a bridge too far?
Think of it as a Lesbian Mud Wrestling fundraiser to benefit the campaign of Nithya Raman.
Lefty v. Lefty,
hoping they both lose.
Well, the department was already being run by two lesbians anyway—and that’s exactly why they were hired. And don’t forget what her second-in-command, Deputy Chief Kristine Larson, said when pressed on whether female firefighters are strong enough to carry a man out of a burning building: ‘He got himself in the wrong place if I have to carry him out of a fire.’
Yes. Silly of them to let themselves be caught in a government induced fire.