Kristin Crowley appeals Los Angeles mayor’s decision to terminate her as LAFD chief

Former Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley has started the appeal process following Mayor Karen Bass’ decision to fire her a week ago.

Her decision to appeal comes after Bass’ decision has spun up criticism from City Councilmembers and the public for what they say is “misrepresenting the facts.”

Crowley announced the appeal to City Council members on Thursday.

“I choose to proceed with the Council appeal provided for in Los Angeles Charter, Article V, Section 5.08(e), due to Mayor Bass’s removal of me, on February 21, 2025, from the position of Fire Chief of the Los Angeles City Fire Department,” read Crowley’s note. “I look forward to hearing from you about next steps, if any.”

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Bass announced that she was firing Crowley after last month’s devastating Palisades Fire and appointing former Chief Deputy Ronnie Villanueva, a 41-year LAFD veteran, as interim fire chief. She said it was in the best interest of Los Angeles. 

“Acting in the best interests of Los Angeles’ public safety, and for the operations of the Los Angeles Fire Department, I have removed Kristin Crowley as Fire Chief. We know that 1,000 firefighters that could have been on duty on the morning the fires broke out were instead sent home on Chief Crowley’s watch. Furthermore, a necessary step to an investigation was the President of the Fire Commission telling Chief Crowley to do an after action report on the fires. The Chief refused. These require her removal. The heroism of our firefighters – during the Palisades fire and every single day – is without question. Bringing new leadership to the fire department is what our city needs.”  

Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson added the appeal on the agenda hours after Crowley’s announcement to be discussed at a special council meeting Friday at 5 p.m.

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United Firefighters of Los Angeles City Local 112, the union that represents city firefighters and are supporters of Crowley, said in a post to Facebook it was outrageous to schedule, with only 24-hour notice, a “Special Meeting” to hear Chief Crowley’s appeal.

“This is an example of why the public doesn’t trust City Hall and the constant missteps that we have seen our city leaders make since the fires broke out on January 7th. This is not transparent, fair, or just. It’s yet another public blunder coming out of City Hall that makes the people of Los Angeles continue to question the motives and trustworthiness of our city’s leaders,” the post said.

The union went on to say that they believe the reasons she was terminated were manufactured and, in reality, Crowley was fired for telling the truth.

“Our rank-and-file firefighters on the ground strongly support Chief Crowley. They know the truth, we have her back, and we will fight for her right to set the record straight,” they said.

“This is the first City Council meeting that we are aware of, perhaps ever, that has been scheduled on 24-hour notice for a Friday at 5:00 pm. It’s obvious that some on the City Council are attempting to bury this issue when nobody is watching and holding them accountable. City Council Members will have to ask themselves if this is the way they want to decide the fate of our Fire Chief. What’s happening is wrong, and everyone knows it.”

Crowley’s appeal will require a vote of at least 10 of 15 members in her favor. It remains unclear how the vote will go as four council members stood behind Bass during the press conference as she announced the decision to remove Crowley.

Councilmember Bob Blumenfield believes it is in the mayor’s right to hire and fire whom she wishes.

“She needs to have the full confidence of her general managers and her chiefs. If she has lost that confidence, she has every right to change out the head of a department” or fire chief, he said earlier this week.

The Los Angeles City Charter allows the mayor the ability to remove most department heads, including the fire chief, without council approval. 

The charter also gives the fired employee the right to appeal the decision to the council with the possibility of reinstatement. 

The City Council has 10 meeting days to act on Crowley’s filing, per the charter.