Kristin Crowley has responded to the city’s motion to dismiss the second of two lawsuits filed by the former Los Angeles fire chief, saying that Mayor Karen Bass continues to disparage her with “ill will” and that the impact on her has been “heartbreaking.”
In her first Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit filed Feb. 20, Crowley, 55, alleges retaliation by the city in violation of the Labor Code and retaliation in violation of the state Constitution in the aftermath of her termination in the wake of the deadly 2025 Palisades fire. The city denies any retaliation took place and says the first suit should be tossed out as a result.
Crowley’s second suit, for defamation, was brought against Bass on June 23. In court papers filed Friday with Judge Kristin S. Escalante in advance of a Nov. 4 hearing, Crowley says in a sworn declaration that her termination has effectively demoted her three ranks and left her in the status of a regular LAFD long-term employee.
“Bass’ choice to use her well-funded political campaign to disparage me, a much lower-level city employee, and damage my reputation as a 26-year veteran of the LAFD is heartbreaking to me,” Bass says.
Crowley alleges Bass has chosen to voice with “ill will” disparaging and false remarks about the former chief’s work performance.
“Bass has done so despite my repeated opposition to her prior false statements, my demonstration that her statements are false, my requests that she stop and despite that her statements are contradicted by the LAFD’s official documents,” according to Crowley.
In their court papers, Crowley’s attorneys state that their client is suing Bass in her personal and not her mayoral capacity. The Crowley lawyers are asking that the Nov. 4 hearing be delayed until Dec. 3 so that they can do more discovery in opposition to the city’s dismissal motion.
In their anti-SLAPP motion, the 73-year-old Bass’ attorneys state that Crowley’s lawsuit is “an improper attempt to stifle and punish critical public discourse.”
The lawyers’ pleadings state that Crowley wants to hold Bass liable for a statement the city’s leader made during a televised mayoral debate. But the Bass remark falls within the anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) statute’s protections for any oral statement or writing made in a place open to the public or a public forum in connection with an issue of public interest, according to Bass’ attorneys’ court papers.
The state’s anti-SLAPP law is intended to prevent people from using courts, and potential threats of a lawsuit, to intimidate those who are exercising their First Amendment rights.
The challenged statement concerns the response of the LAFD and the city to the Palisades fire, a topic that remains the subject of public interest as well as widespread news coverage, public discussion and ongoing investigation, Bass’ attorneys note in their court papers.
“Bass falsely stated that ‘the primary problem there was that the chief sent home 1,000 firefighters. … (there were) fire trucks that were out of use because she had sent the firefighters home. … there was supposed to have been deployment and pre-deployment in the area that did not happen,” according to Crowley’s defamation suit.
But in their court papers, Bass’ lawyers contend that in making the challenged statement, the mayor took part in the ongoing discussions regarding the Palisades fire and, thus, her statement was in connection with a matter of public interest.
Crowley was removed as LAFD chief by Bass on Feb. 21, 2025, although she is still with the LAFD as an assistant chief in the Valley Bureau.
Bass accused Crowley of leadership failures during the January 2025 windstorm that led to the deadly Palisades fire, and also accused the former fire chief of refusing to prepare an after-action report on the firefight. The mayor also accused Crowley of failing to deploy 1,000 firefighters who “could have been on duty” the morning the fire erupted.
Bass also contended in interviews that Crowley failed to inform her of the fire danger presented by forecasted Santa Ana winds — despite those warnings being widely publicized by the National Weather Service and in media reports for days in advance.
Crowley in 2025 appealed her removal as chief to the City Council, but the council stood behind Bass, rejecting the appeal in a 13-2 vote.
The Palisades fire burned more than 23,000 acres, killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of structures.