What to Know
- Citing leadership failures during the LA wildfires, Mayor Karen Bass dismissed LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley Feb. 21.
- In accordance with the city charter, Crowley has filed an appeal that will be heard Tuesday by the Los Angeles City Council.
- Ten of the council’s 15 members would need to side with Crowley for the 25-year department veteran to be reinstated.
- 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.
Former Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley will go before the City Council Tuesday to make her case that she should be reinstated after her firing a week ago by Mayor Karen Bass.
Bass’ announcement Feb. 21 drew public reaction from only a few on the 15-member panel, but it remains unclear how any plan to vote after Crowley appeals her termination next week at a special 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.
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 appear Friday, a short timeline that drew criticism from the firefighters union. The special meeting was delayed to Tuesday morning.
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.
“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,” said Council President Marqueece Harris Dawson. “So, we’re figuring it out. We’re figuring out all the applicable law, and so on and so forth.”
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.
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.
“There is a crisis of confidence in city government, and I see it every day with my constituents,” Councilmember Traci Park, whose district includes Pacific Palisades, said Tuesday. “It was not well thought out and has resulted in division on the council when we should be focused on the recovery.”
Park had called for Crowley to appeal the decision, as had council member Monica Rodriguez, of the San Fernando Valley.
“The council needs to look at why she was fired and the cause,” Rodriguez said Tuesday.
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.
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 not 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.
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.
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