Overview
- Citing Labor Code and state constitutional protections, Kristin Crowley’s lawsuit alleges an orchestrated campaign of misinformation, defamation, and retaliation by the mayor’s office.
- Mayor Karen Bass removed Crowley as fire chief in February 2025; Crowley stayed with LAFD at a lower rank after the City Council voted 13–2 to set aside her appeal.
- Crowley says budget cuts and sidelined equipment constrained the response, while Bass has asserted that 1,000 additional firefighters could have been deployed and that Crowley refused to prepare an after‑action report.
- The filing references Bass being overseas in Ghana as the fire began and disputes city statements about awareness of the high-wind threat and the department’s funding.
- The Palisades Fire killed 12 people and destroyed nearly 7,000 homes, and a Florida man accused of starting an earlier fire linked to the blaze has pleaded not guilty to three federal arson charges.