Former LAFD Chief Hits Karen Bass With Blistering Defamation Suit Alleging Mayor Lied Through Her Teeth

 

The massive warehouse fire in the Boyle Heights section of Los Angeles has been burning and spewing toxic chemicals into the air for a week now. 

As RedState’s Jennifer Oliver O’Connell reported, Gov. Gavin Newsom was slow to declare a state of emergency, as he and LA Mayor Karen Bass were in Chicago rubbing elbows with the Democrat elites at the Obama Presidential Center opening.

The Mayor seems to have a habit of being out of town when major conflagrations break out.

To be fair, she couldn‘t have known that a warehouse would go up in flames — but she was warned about the dangerous conditions that led to the disastrous January 2025 wildfires that destroyed the Pacific Palisades and Altadena. Instead of sticking around to protect her city, she jetted off to Ghana to attend the inauguration of the country’s new president.

Now the former fire chief that the mayor axed, Kristin Crowley, is suing her for defamation and accusing her of lying about her knowledge of the dangerous conditions. She pulls no punches in the suit, which was filed Tuesday:

Mayor Karen Bass put her desire to be reelected ahead of the truth when it came to the failures leading up to the Palisades fire — scorching former LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley in her alleged path of lies — according to a new defamation lawsuit brought against Bass by Crowley.

Crowley served as Fire Chief in Los Angeles from March 2022 to February 2025, and was in charge during the devastating fires in January 2025.

Crowley repeatedly warned Bass and LA’s City Council of the fire department’s staffing and resource shortages — submitting detailed reports and budget requests, according to the lawsuit obtained by The California Post.

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MORE: Los Angeles Is Burning Again. Karen Bass and Gavin Newsom Are Once Again Slow Rolling Their Response

BREAKING: LA Mayor Karen Bass Fires Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, Who Spoke Out Against Massive Budget Cuts

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Crowley had already filed a lawsuit in February alleging that the city violated the labor code when she was summarily kicked to the curb by the mayor. This new suit, however, is different because she is alleging that Bass personally defamed her and should pay damages out of her own pocket.

 

And she’s not alleging that Bass simply misled the public — she’s flat-out calling her a lying liar:

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.

The suit points to Bass’ comments during a May 6 debate when she laid the blame for the disaster at Crowley’s feet:

"Bass falsely blamed Crowley, despite Crowley having publicly and privately opposed Bass' budget cut that left fire engines inoperable," the suit said. It goes on to say that Bass told viewers that Crowley had sent home 1,000 firefighters who would have been in the area of the fire, which was false, but "maliciously and intentionally exploited the ease with which misinformation spreads..."

"Through her actions, Bass has chosen her personal interest over transparency and the truth, over the interests and safety of the people of Los Angeles, and over the interests and safety of the thousands of firefighters who risk their lives daily to protect the people of Los Angeles, including Crowley, a career firefighter serving the LAFD for over 26 years," the suit said.

We’ve extensively covered Bass’ disastrous leadership before, during, and after the fires; to lay the blame all on Crowley is ridiculous (even if Crowley herself earned plenty of legitimate concern about her misplaced DEI and LGBTQ priorities when she was chief).

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MORE: A RedState Photo Odyssey: The Devastation of the Pacific Palisades Is America's Wake-Up Call (VIP)

A Very Interesting Plaintiff Is Suing the City of LA Over Wildfires — Karen Bass' Brother

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Bass may end up having to reach deep into her purse for this one. Meanwhile, now we get rats running all over the place:

NEW: Rats are being spotted near homeless encampments in Boyle Heights as concerns grow around the massive warehouse fire.

Firefighters say as much as 86 million pounds of frozen food could spoil inside the cold storage warehouse, raising additional health and environmental concerns for nearby residents.