Fired LAFD chief to appeal to LA City Council – NBC Los Angeles

Former Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley’s appeal of her dismissal by Mayor Karen Bass will go before the City Council Tuesday at its regular meeting.

The Feb. 21 firing drew public reaction from only a few on the 15-member panel, but it remains unclear how they plan to vote after Crowley appeals her termination at Tuesday’s regular meeting as allowed under the city charter. Crowley would need 10 council members to side with her to be reinstated, according to the city charter.

Tuesday’s meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. It was not immediately clear when a decision will be announced at the meeting, but the appeal is the final item on the council’s agenda, which can be adjusted. The last day for council action on the appeal is March 26, according to the published agenda.

A spokesperson for Crowley confirmed the former LAFD chief will be at the City Council meeting, which is open to the public. It was not immediately clear whether she will speak.

Bass dismissed Crowley, who remains with the department at a lower rank, for what the mayor deemed to be failures of leadership during Los Angeles’ January fires, including the deadly Palisades Fire on the Los Angeles County coast.

The council originally planned to hear Crowley’s appeal Friday, a short timeline that drew criticism from the firefighters union. The special meeting was delayed to Tuesday morning.

Freddy Escobar, president of the LAFD’s union, said members support Crowley and plan to attend her appeal hearing.

“Think about it. Labor is with management on this,” Escobar said. “Our expectation is to have a few dozen LAFD firefighters, boots on the ground, there to support Chief Crowley.

“I believe if she’s given the opportunity, she is going to speak. We’re hoping for her to speak and set the facts straight.”

The last time the council heard an appeal like Crowley’s was in 2005 for an animal services manager, according to the city clerk’s office.

NBC4’s Conan Nolan speaks with investigative reporter Eric Leonard about Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ bombshell of an announcement in firing LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley. Plus, LA City councilmember Monica Rodriguez explains why she does not support Crowley’s firing.  

“I would ask everybody in the public to have some consideration that the staff who is working on this, this is not something they do on a regular basis,” Council President Marqueece Harris Dawson said last week. “So, we’re figuring it out. We’re figuring out all the applicable law, and so on and so forth.”

As for the outcome of the appeal, council members who spoke to NBCLA Friday did not indicate how they would vote.

The 10-vote bar could be a tough one to meet. Four council members stood with Bass when she announced the firing on Friday at City Hall. Another member publicly announced support Tuesday.

Two have publicly stated opposition to the mayor’s decision.

Councilmember Traci Park, whose district includes Pacific Palisades, called for Crowley to appeal the decision, as had council member Monica Rodriguez, of the San Fernando Valley.

“No investigations have been completed. At this time, we don’t have any evidentiary record in front of us,” Park said Monday. “”This feels premature under the circumstances, and I have some concerns about the process and the lack of clarity about what lies ahead.”

Los Angeles Chief Kristin Crowley and Mayor Karen Bass were in a meeting Friday evening following Crowley’s remarks about the decision to make budget cuts to the fire department. Robert Kovacik reports for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 10, 2025.

Harris Dawson, who was among the members standing behind the mayor during Friday’s announcement, said he supports Bass’ decision. Councilmembers Curren Price, Hugo Soto-Martinez and Adrin Nazarian also stood by Bass at the Feb. 21 City Hall news conference.

“I don’t know necessarily why she wants a job if she doesn’t have the confidence of the mayor, but it’s certainly her right to do it, and maybe it’s just to get some of these things vetted publicly, but that’s the process,” Councilmember Bob Blumenfield said Friday.

Price said Monday that he supports Bass’ decision.

“I want to be unquestionably and unequivocally clear, I stand with Mayor Karen Bass,” Price said. “It’s clear that the chief was insubordinate, and in any organization, accountability is essential for progress.”

Bass also was asked Friday about the appeal.

“I had no idea whether she would appeal, but it is certainly within her right,” Bass said, adding that she has no part in the process.

The back-and-forth between the mayor and former chief began in the days after the fires started on Jan. 7, when Bass was on an overseas trip, and intensified with Bass’ claims that Crowley did not warn her in advance about the high winds that fanned the Palisades and Eaton wildfires. The windstorm was widely expected and publicized days in advance of when the fires started in Pacific Palisades and Altadena.

In a statement to NBC4 last week, the LAFD said the department followed all standard preparation procedures.

“Prior to the Palisades Fire, the LAFD emailed two separate media advisories, conducted multiple live and recorded media interviews about the predicted extreme fire weather, and notified City Officials about the upcoming weather event,” the agency said.

Crowley, elevated to Los Angeles fire chief in 2022 at a time of turmoil in a department consumed by complaints of rampant hazing, harassment and discrimination among its 3,400-member ranks, criticized the city for budget cuts that she said have made it harder for firefighters to do their jobs. Bass has said that the budget cuts did not have an impact on the LAFD’s response to the wildfires.

Crowley has said the cuts impacted mechanics and mainly affected fire engines and ambulances that needed repair. 

One the complaints the mayor identified in firing Crowley was that she refused to provide an after-action probe, requested by the city’s civilian fire commission, into the fire response. Crowley has not publicly addressed that matter.

Text messages to and from Crowley offer some insight into coordination for the windstorm and fires. The messages include correspondence with the city emergency manager and LAPD chief outlining the plan for an emergency operations center ahead of the Palisades Fire and a message from Crowley to regional fire chiefs calling for “anything else you can send us” after the fire started on the LA County coast.

The mayor’s office released a statement about the 350 pages of text messages.

“These documents show that in the day leading up to the fires, Chief Crowley was not in text contact with the Mayor or any member of her staff regarding the coming weather event until after the fires had already broken out,” the mayor’s office said in a statement.

Former Chief Deputy Ronnie Villanueva, a 41-year LAFD veteran, was announced as interim fire chief.

Crowley has been with the LAFD for about 25 years, working her way up through the ranks of the department as a firefighter, paramedic, engineer, fire inspector, captain, battalion chief, assistant chief, deputy chief and chief deputy before earning the top job.