LA hearth chief sued after firing worker who allegedly caught her embezzling funds
Los Angeles Fireplace Chief Kristin Crowley was named in a lawsuit filed by a former longtime worker who stated she spoke up about months of egregious misconduct by the chief and one other prime official — and was harassed and fired in retaliation, a report stated.
The go well with, filed in opposition to town of Los Angeles, provides to an inferno of controversy over Crowley and different officers’ management amid the most costly wildfires in California historical past.
Former LAFD Fireplace Administrator Jenny Park, a civilian worker of greater than ten years, claims she bought the axe after elevating considerations about Crowley’s recurring misconduct since she took the highest spot in 2022, which included nepotism, bullying, and a refusal to return $37,000 paid to her in error, the court docket submitting obtained by the Day by day Mail alleges.
Park additionally alerted metropolis officers when one other high-ranking official, Deputy Chief Orin Saunders allegedly awarded a profitable contract that carried a battle of curiosity.
That 12 months, Crowley and Saunders raked in $654,000 and $576,000, respectively, in pay and advantages that 12 months, in accordance with division data supplied to Clear California.
The pair allegedly ran the division like their private clubhouse, handing out promotions that weren’t primarily based on benefit, giving particular therapy to individuals they personally appreciated – and bullying these they didn’t.
Park claims she first introduced up the problems to Crowley and Saunders instantly, then complained to metropolis officers who did nothing to handle the issues.
As a substitute, Crowley and Saunders did their finest to bully, isolate and “intimidate her into silence,” smearing her behind her again, excluding her from panels and occasions, and brazenly humiliating her in entrance of her colleagues, the court docket submitting printed by the Mail alleges.
Crowley lastly notified Park of her termination simply earlier than Christmas of 2023 – ousting the division’s highest-ranking girl and Asian-American worker in a single stroke.
The Los Angeles Fireplace Division didn’t instantly reply to The Publish’s request for remark.
Park had joined the hearth division as a civilian in 2013 after serving as a deputy legal professional for town.
She cherished her job, rapidly rose by way of the ranks, and had deliberate to remain for the remainder of her profession, Park’s legal professional Martin Aarons informed the Mail.
Aarons described Park’s firing as a rigorously deliberate scheme that concerned months of undermining and character assassination.
He stated such strikes have been a part of her customary playbook since taking the highest job in 2022 – after her predecessor resigned amid his personal firestorm of scandal.
“After Chief Crowley began, over the course of the following 18 months it turned clear that should you didn’t go together with what she wished to do then you definitely have been swiftly persona non grata,” Aarons informed the Mail.