Former Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley lost an appeal to get her old job back in a hearing Tuesday before the City Council that included the 25-year department veteran's first extensive public comments about the events that led to her firing.

Crowley delivered an impassioned 11-minute plea before the City Council as she appealed Mayor Karen Bass' decision to dismiss her in the wake of the deadly January wildfires. In the end, the council voted 13-2 to receive and file the appeal, shelving the matter and effectively ending Crowley's bid for reinstatement.

Crowley needed 10 council members to side with her to be reinstated, according to the city charter.

Crowley arrived at City Hall at about 9 a.m., receiving hugs and applause from firefighters as she entered the building.

"I am very grateful that I have the opportunity to appeal and to speak my truth," Crowley said outside City Hall. "I'm also very grateful to have labor here supporting our efforts as a department to get us to where we need to go. There's been a tremendous amount of love and outpouring from the community.

"We're going to push and work to get our people what they need to do their jobs, and to support the community."

Seated at a table in front of the council, Crowley opened her statements by restating her belief that the department is lacking the resources it needs to protect Los Angeles.

"When we fail to take care of our firefighters, we fail to take care of our communities," Crowley said.

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.

Bass lauded Crowley in the early hours of the fire, but said she later learned that an additional 1,000 firefighters could have been deployed on the day the Palisades Fire started. Bass also said Crowley refused to prepare a report on the fires.

After her initial remarks, Crowley went on to address some of those complaints, including the after-action report that was to be filed with the city's fire commission.

"I will set the record straight on multiple false accusations made against me," Crowley said. "I did not refuse an after action report. This is a false accusation. During our discussions about an after action report, I advised the fire commission about what was best."

Crowley said she recommended working in collaboration the Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI) on a post-fire report.

"They're already conducting an analysis of windstorm and wildfires," Crowley said. "In contrast to LAFD, FSRI has resources to conduct a thorough investigation… that will be independent, which is so important as we figure out a way to move forward."

The council originally planned to hear Crowley's appeal Friday, a short timeline that drew criticism from the firefighters union. The hearing was then delayed to Tuesday.

Crowley also addressed accusations about department staffing. She repeated statements that the department was limited because of fire engines that were sidelined for maintenance. Crowley has said budget cuts impacted mechanics and mainly affected fire engines and ambulances that needed repair. 

"On the morning of the fire, I did not send home 1,000 firefighters who could have hopped on fire engines," Crowley said. "We did not have enough apparatus to put them on. Over 100 sat broken down in our maintenance yards."

Crowley finished her comments by refuting the mayor's claims that the chief did not notify her office about the windstorm and potentially life-threatening wildfire conditions.

Firefighters union members spoke in support of Crowley during the meeting's public comment period.

"Think about it. Labor is with management on this," said Freddy Escobar, president of the LAFD's union. "Our expectation is to have a few dozen LAFD firefighters, boots on the ground, there to support Chief Crowley."

Several speakers expressed support for the mayor's decision, which took up the bulk of the meeting's public comment period.

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.

The 10-vote bar was a tough one for Crowley to meet. Four council members stood with Bass when she announced the firing Feb. 21 at City Hall. Another member publicly announced support Tuesday.

Only two have publicly stated opposition to the mayor's decision.

Councilmember Traci Park, whose district includes Pacific Palisades, called for Crowley to appeal the decision, as had council member Monica Rodriguez, of the San Fernando Valley.

"As a council, we also unanimously approved an outside, independent after-action review," Park said Tuesday. "The fire department and the city should not be investigating itself following the biggest disaster in our city's history, nor should it be investigated by a commission of political appointees."

Rodriguez said it will be a long journey to address the fire department's needs as the city faces a fiscal crisis.

"I believe that it is inherent upon us as leaders to make difficult decisions, whatever the political ramifications are," Rodriguez said. "I don't give a damn. I believe it's important to let the truth prevail, and you shouldn't disparage or suggest that someone refuse to do their job."

After Rodriguez and Park spoke, council members Imelda Padilla and Tim McOsker spoke in support of Bass' decision.

"Sometimes we have to risk our job to do our job, and I think our role here is to make sure we can move forward, and with a very heavy heart I am going to support the power of the Mayor," said McCosker. "We owe it to the people that this government can be functional off into the future, and I think the way to make our government functional is to avoid a circumstance where we have an executive officer and the head of a department that can’t work together."

It soon became clear Crowley lacked the required council support, leading to a quick vote.

"After testimony by the former Chief confirming she sent firefighters home on the morning of January 7th and that she would not move forward with an internal after action report, her appeal was rejected 13-2 by members of the City Council," Zach Seidl, a spokesperson for the mayor's office, said after the council vote. "This is an issue of public safety and for the operations of the Los Angeles Fire Department – the City of Los Angeles is moving forward."

In a statement following the decision, Crowley described the decision as disappointing but expressed gratitude to those who showed her support.

Although I am disappointed in the outcome of today’s appeal vote, my heart is full of gratitude for the outpouring of love and support that I received. I especially want to thank UFLAC President Freddy Escobar, the many other UFLAC leaders, and the members who supported my efforts to shine the light on LAFD’s needs. Standing up, speaking out, and advocating for our LAFD firefighters, their families, and the communities that we serve will always be the right thing to do. 

 

It has been an absolute honor of a lifetime to serve and represent the incredible men and women of the LAFD for nearly three years. The LAFD deserves to be properly funded, staffed, and resourced so we can meet the ever-changing needs of our communities. We owe that to the LAFD and to those we serve.

Kristin Crowley

Council President Marqueece Harris Dawson, who was among the members standing behind the mayor during the Feb. 21 announcement, said he supports Bass' decision. Councilmembers Curren Price, Hugo Soto-Martinez and Adrin Nazarian also stood by Bass at the mayor's City Hall news conference.

The LAFD also released a statement after the council hearing.

"The Los Angeles City Fire Department is grateful for Chief Crowley and her leadership during the time she served as Fire Chief," the agency said. "As the City recovers from the devastating fires, Interim Fire Chief Villanueva will utilize his years of service to ensure collaboration between the LAFD, other City Departments and leaders as the focus is to move forward as one."

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 that she later said was a mistake, 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, 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.

Text messages to and from Crowley offer some insight into coordination for the windstorm and fires. The messages include correspondence with the city emergency manager and LAPD chief outlining the plan for an emergency operations center ahead of the Palisades Fire and a message from Crowley to regional fire chiefs calling for "anything else you can send us" after the fire started on the LA County coast.

The mayor's office released a statement about the 350 pages of text messages.

"These documents show that in the day leading up to the fires, Chief Crowley was not in text contact with the Mayor or any member of her staff regarding the coming weather event until after the fires had already broken out," the mayor's office said in a statement.

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.

"My disappointment with this situation is that our chief, the chief chose the wrong time and the wrong place to raise an issue," Padilla said Tuesday. "Spending time talking to the press to tell her side of the story, which I think is important, versus at the command center during the fires raises major concerns about what proper time should be. And it is because of that that I hope we recognize that this is a Mayor doing what is within her jurisdiction."

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.