Kristin Crowley, the first female chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department who was pushed out of her job weeks after she criticized the city for budget cuts in the wake of the deadly Palisades fire, has filed a lawsuit against the city, saying her ouster as head of the agency was part of a cover-up orchestrated by City Hall.
The civil action was filed in Superior Court and alleges unlawful retaliation in violation of the California Labor Code and the California Constitution. The suit accuses Mayor Karen Bass of lying as part of a cover-up for her absence when the fire broke out and the LAFD’s incompetent handling of the Lachman fire, which was allegedly started by an arsonist in the early morning of New Year’s Day 2025, seeks unspecified damages. That blaze smoldered for seven days until is exploded into the Palisades fire, which killed a dozen people and destroyed nearly 7,000 homes.
Crowley, a 26-year veteran, continues to work in a demoted capacity for the LAFD…