Former Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) Chief Kristin Crowley lost her reinstatement appeal 13-2 with the Los Angeles City Council on March 4.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass relieved Crowley of her duties on Feb. 21, citing the “best interests of Los Angeles’ public safety and for the operations of the Los Angeles Fire Department.” Following the Palisades and Eaton fires, which burned more than 40,000 acres throughout Los Angeles in January, Crowley will continue serving as assistant chief of the LAFD’s Operations Valley Bureau.
Under Article 5, Section 508(e) of the Los Angeles City Charter, the mayor has the power to fire chief administrative officers of the city. Removed chief administrative officers may appeal the decision within 10 calendar days of their removal. The City Council can then reinstate the removed officer with a two-thirds vote within 10 council meeting days after receiving the appeal. Crowley appealed her removal to the council on Feb. 27. Reinstatement required 10 out of 15 council member votes.
Crowley spoke at her appeal hearing, emerging to cheers and a standing ovation from her colleagues at the fire department. She delivered an 11-minute speech advocating for reinstatement.
“I stand before you today not only as the former fire chief appealing to be reinstated but as a leader who has always placed the safety, health and well-being of our incredible and heroic firefighters first,” Crowley said at the meeting.
A 25-year veteran of the LAFD, Crowley defended herself by citing limited funding and staffing issues during her tenure.
“For nearly three years as the fire chief, I have submitted realistic budget requests that were carefully crafted based on data, reports, analysis and recommendations from outside independent agencies that show just how understaffed and under-resourced the LAFD is,” Crowley said.
Raymond Laurence Park, a third-year UCI political science and international studies double major who lives in the LA area, expressed his disappointment in the city’s handling of the fires and rebuilding efforts.
“As a UCI student, [I have to] worry about how things are [going] back home. I do have family members that are directly impacted. They have had to evacuate and move homes and deal with smog and water problems,” Park told New University. “A month into the fires, I do not know how the rebuilding is going. It is a big shock to everyone how weak the city infrastructure was. We are disappointed at how the city has handled the rebuilding efforts.”
Tension between Bass and Crowley had been brewing for more than two months. In a Dec. 4 memo, Crowley warned that LAFD faced “unprecedented operational challenges” and that a $17.6 million reduction in its budget would severely hinder its ability to combat large-scale emergencies. Bass pushed back on this criticism, claiming the budget cuts did not impact the response to the LA fires.
“The impact of our budget really did not impact what we’ve been going through over the last few days,” Bass said in a press conference in January.
Ronnie Villanueva, a 41-year veteran of the LAFD, was appointed as the interim chief on Feb. 21 by Mayor Bass.
Aarav Upadhyaya is a News Intern for the winter 2025 quarter. He can be reached at aaravu1@uci.edu.
Edited by Jaheem Conley