Kristin Crowley, who was removed by Mayor Karen Bass last week as chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department, is appealing her dismissal.
Crowley sent an email to the L.A. City Council on Thursday announcing her intention to proceed with an appeal. Under the city charter, two-thirds of the council can vote to override the firing.
Bass fired Crowley last Friday, contending that the former chief failed the city by sending 1,000 firefighters home shortly before the Palisades Fire broke out and that she refused to perform an after-action report on the fire response. LAFD officials have pushed back on both claims.
The firing came after a month of public tension between the mayor and the former chief. While the Palisades Fire was still raging in January, Crowley blasted Bass for cutting the LAFD’s budget and told a reporter that Bass had failed her department.
Councilmember Monica Rodriguez called the firing “scapegoating” and encouraged Crowley to appeal the “baseless termination.”
Councilmember Traci Park, who represents the Palisades, told KNX News’ Craig Fiegener she was blindsided by Bass’ decision.
“Clearly this was orchestrated and coordinated with some members, I was not included in that,” she said. “And as the member who represents the council district where this devastation happened and the thousands of people who are displaced and traumatized and as the member who has been and will be for years to come on the ground navigating us through the aftermath of this, yes, I'm really disappointed.”
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Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, however, said he had encouraged Bass to fire Crowley, whom he said demonstrated “incredibly poor judgment” by criticizing the city’s budget cuts.
Crowley would need the support of 10 of 15 city council members to get her job back.
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