Mayor Karen Bass has responded to a second lawsuit filed against her by former Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley, this one accusing the city’s leader of defamation in comments made about Crowley’s handling of the 2025 Palisades Fire.
The lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court claims that Bass is maligning Crowley’s reputation and cites a May 6 mayoral debate when Bass said, “The primary problem there was that the chief sent home 1,000 firefighters …”
The mayor’s office released a statement in response to the latest suit.
“This is another meritless lawsuit from a disgruntled individual who was removed from her position,” the statement said.
But according to the lawsuit, after announcing her re-election candidacy, and after Bass’ false statements about Crowley were proven to be untrue, Bass continued to put her personal interests and desire to win a second term ahead of the truth.
Bass, 72, knew that her statements about the Palisades Fire, the LAFD’s resources and deployment decisions and those she made about Crowley were false, but the mayor continued making many of the same untrue statements again and again, the lawsuit alleges.
“These were not mistakes, but instead were and continue to be part of a deliberate strategy to mislead the public and divert criticism of Bass’ decisions in her bid to win reelection,” according to the complaint.
Bass’ allegedly incorrect statements were made in her personal capacity as a political candidate and are not subject to the governmental immunity that may otherwise be held by politicians acting on the government’s behalf, the suit further contends.
This is the second lawsuit Crowley, 55, has filed in connection with Bass and the aftermath of the Palisades Fire that erupted on Jan. 7, 2025. In February, Crowley brought a retaliation suit against the city a year after Bass removed her as LAFD chief. Bass said a reason for Crowley’s removal was her failure to pre-deploy firefighters the morning that the fire broke out. She also contended that Crowley refused to conduct an after-action report.