LOS ANGELES (CNS) – The city of Los Angeles is asking a judge to dismiss the first of two lawsuits filed by former Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley, who was ousted by Mayor Karen Bass in the aftermath of the deadly 2025 Palisades Fire and has sued the city over her termination.
In her Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit filed Feb. 20, Crowley alleges retaliation in violation of the Labor Code and retaliation in violation of the state Constitution. In court papers filed Friday with Judge Kristin S. Escalante in advance of a Dec. 11 hearing, the city’s attorneys deny that Crowley was a whistleblower as her suit contends.
“(Crowley) has not stated a free-speech claim,” the city’s attorneys state in their pleadings. “By plaintiff’s own account, she held a high- level policymaking position requiring her to exercise substantial authority over matters of public safety and to represent LAFD before the city’s elected officials and the public.”…