Former LAFD chief sues Bass, says mayor should pay out of pocket for campaign remarks
This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.
Former Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley is suing Mayor Karen Bass personally, alleging that, while campaigning for reelection, Bass defamed her, damaging Crowley’s reputation by blaming her for the catastrophic Palisades fire response.Crowley sued the city in February, alleging Bass “orchestrated a campaign of retaliation” and removed Crowley as fire chief to shift blame amid mounting criticism of the mayor’s decision to attend a ceremony in Ghana on Jan.
7 even as the deadly Palisades fire was spreading in extreme red-flag fire conditions.Crowley’s new lawsuit on Tuesday sues Bass personally for defamation.
In it, she argues that comments the mayor made on the campaign trail aren’t protected by government immunity and that Bass should pay damages out of her own pocket.The former chief seeks unspecified economic and compensatory damages.In the complaint, Crowley alleges that Bass spread misinformation to protect her own reputation on the campaign trail, “knowing that her statements about the Palisades Fire, about the LAFD’s resources and deployment decisions, and about Crowley, were false.”Bass “sought to avoid accountability by shifting blame and lying — including by falsely claiming that she was not aware of the nationally anticipated weather event,” the suit says.According to Crowley’s attorneys Genie Harrison and Mia Munro, the mayor knowingly made false statements in her personal capacity and as an election candidate, which they say are not protected by government immunity.Crowley’s lawsuit points to a televised debate on May 6 in which she claims Bass blamed her for inoperable fire engines, which the former chief says were not repaired due to insufficient funding for mechanics.“Bass falsely blamed Crowley, despite Crowley having publicly and privately opposed Bass’ budget cut that left fire engines inoperable,” the suit said.
It goes...