Kristin Crowley, former Los Angeles fire chief, has filed a defamation lawsuit against Mayor Karen Bass related to the Palisades Fire.
In the lawsuit, Crowley alleges that Bass lied to shift blame and protect her own image after the horrific fire started while she was abroad.
According to FOX 11 Los Angeles, Crowley is asking a judge for “punitive and emotional distress damages, plus coverage of her full legal fees.”
Crowley decided to take legal action because Bass “continues to make knowingly false statements about Crowley in a transparent effort to avoid accountability, to conceal the extent to which Bass has undermined public safety and transparency, and to transfer blame and criticism of Bass’ leadership failures to a career-first responder who has dedicated and risked her life to protect the City of Los Angeles,” the outlet stated.
Ex-LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley sues Mayor Karen Bass for defamation after Palisades Fire feud and dismissal https://t.co/SE30XEA6Bb pic.twitter.com/v4FdDWeKJ5
— California Post (@californiapost) June 23, 2026
FOX 11 Los Angeles shared further:
The documents also state that Crowley “repeatedly warned of the LAFD’s worsening resources and staffing crisis,” and “submitted numerous detailed reports and budget requests” that showed “how aging infrastructure, surging emergency calls, and shrinking staff left the city and firefighters at risk of harm.”
In addition, the document highlights Bass was out of the country when the Palisades Fire first erupted. “She sought to avoid accountability by shifting blame and lying – including by falsely claiming that she was not aware of the nationally anticipated weather event,” and “falsely claiming that LAFD’s operational fire engines were not used on January 7, 2025 – claims contradicted by public records and Bass’ own prior statements and/or conduct.”
The legal battle stems from the destructive January 2025 Palisades Fire. Court documents highlight that Bass was out of the country when the blaze first erupted.
“Former Fire Chief Kristin Crowley filed a new stand-alone lawsuit against Karen Bass individually based on Bass’s alleged defamatory statements made in her personal capacity to benefit herself in her mayoral campaign,” attorneys Genie Harrison and Mia Munro told The Center Square.
“Chief Crowley remains steadfast in her commitment to the truth and looks forward to a jury trial through which the citizens of Los Angeles will sit in judgment of Bass’s conduct,” they added.
Watch below:
Former Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley has sued Mayor Karen Bass for defamation, alleging Bass made false statements about her handling of the Palisades Fire that damaged her reputation. pic.twitter.com/xCwMgO53qt
— KTLA (@KTLA) June 24, 2026
More from The Center Square:
The Mayor’s Office has called the lawsuit meritless in statements sent to The Center Square Wednesday and others.
Maryam Zar, who lives in Los Angeles, called the lawsuit absurd and noted, “Mayor Bass dismissed the Chief because at least 1,000 firefighters had been excused on a high-wind day that was under a Red Flag Warning.”
After smelling smoke and seeing it on the horizon from her backyard, Zar tried calling the captain at her local fire station.
She told The Center Square she was told the captain was off for the day.
Zar called that inexcusable.
“This was a senior captain at a Pacific Palisades fire station, six days after a previous fire, on the morning of a high-wind warning day, with smoke already in the air,” said Zar. “I do not know how the Chief’s lawsuit will turn out, but I do know she deserved to be fired.”
Meanwhile, Zar said this “does not absolve the Mayor of responsibility for this fire, nor for her inability to establish a proper recovery for the community” more than a year and a half later.
“She has also failed in her responsibilities,” said Zar. “We do not have a recovery district, nor do we have any meaningful structure or working framework for what recovery should look like.”
To date, Zar said that her community is “still largely on its own” and is figuring things out as it goes.
