By Edward Henderson
Contributing Writer
LOS ANGELES — A captain in the Los Angeles Fire Department has accused former Fire Chief Kristin Crowley of purposefully mismanaging the department as part of a strategy to get more money for the department.
Capt. Robert Hawkins said he met with Crowley last October about the removal of recruitment officers and its impact on Black firefighter representation.
“She told me that she was refusing to maintain staffing and had planned to cut fire engines over a $17-million deficit, and she asked the stakeholders if we can contact our retirees to fill temporary recruitment roles, stating to us that sometimes you need to ‘let bad things happen’ to get the attention of the City Council for our budget.”
Hawkins said that after his meeting with Crowley he met with former Deputy Mayor Brian Williams to express serious concerns about the leadership of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
“I met with him [and] I told him I do not believe the fire chief has the mayor’s best interests at heart, nor do I believe she is managing the department appropriately,” Hawkins said. “I warned him to warn the mayor in the event of a major emergency with casualties or any type of major destruction. I feared that she would fail to protect the city and ultimately shift blame to the mayor and throw her under the bus.”
Mayor Karen Bass fired Crowley Feb. 21 in the wake of fallout over how recent deadly firestorms in the city were handled. Bass appointed former Chief Deputy Ronnie Villanueva, a 41-year fire department veteran, as interim fire chief.
“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,” Bass said in a statement at the time. “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.
In addition to understaffing the department, Bass said Crowley refused to complete an after-action report on the fires as instructed by the president of the Fire Commission, a necessary step to the investigation.
“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,” Bass said.
During her time as chief, Crowley was outspoken over her disapproval of funding allocated to the department, citing it affected its ability to adequately respond to fires.
After her dismissal, Crowley released a statement.
“As the fire chief, I based my actions and decisions on taking care of our firefighters so that they could take care of our communities. Serving others before self, having the courage and integrity to do what is right, and leading with compassion, love and respect have guided me throughout my career,” Crowley said. “I am extremely proud of the work, sacrifice and dedication of our LAFD members, both sworn and civilian.”
Crowley, who appealed her dismissal on Feb. 27, still serves on the LAFD.
