Freddy Escobar, President of United Firefighters of Los Angeles, IAFF Local 112 (UFLAC) and a Captain with the Los Angeles Fire Department, has filed suit in federal court against the City of Los Angeles and Mayor Karen Bass, alleging retaliation for his public criticism of the City’s handling and funding of the fire department before and after the January 2025 Palisades Fire.  

According to the complaint, Escobar has served as president of UFLAC since 2018 and has been an outspoken advocate for increased staffing, additional fire stations, and modernization of department facilities and apparatus. The complaint alleges that he repeatedly warned that chronic underfunding of the department posed a serious public safety risk.  

The suit states that after the Palisades Fire erupted on January 7, 2025, then-Fire Chief Kristin Crowley publicly attributed shortcomings in the department’s preparedness to years of budget cuts and insufficient resources. Escobar allegedly supported those statements publicly, both as UFLAC president and as a private citizen.  

The complaint references a “Standards of Cover” report prepared jointly by UFLAC, the IAFF, and LAFD leadership that allegedly concluded the department was significantly understaffed and failed to meet several National Fire Protection Association staffing and response-time recommendations.  

Escobar alleges that on January 10, 2025, Mayor Bass summoned him to City Hall for a meeting concerning Chief Crowley and media statements regarding department funding. According to the complaint, Bass asked Escobar why he continued making public complaints about underfunding and demanded to know, “When are you going to stop?”  

The suit alleges that Chief Crowley later joined the meeting, along with members of the Mayor’s staff, and that Escobar told the Mayor directly that Crowley “told the truth” regarding the department’s lack of funding.  

Chief Crowley was terminated on February 21, 2025. The complaint alleges that Escobar and UFLAC publicly opposed her firing, stating that she was terminated “Because she told the truth.”  

The suit describes Escobar as a 36-year veteran of the department assigned to some of the City’s busiest stations, including Fire Station 11, which the complaint says was recognized in 2022 as the busiest fire station in the nation. The complaint alleges that Escobar regularly volunteered for overtime assignments, particularly during the COVID pandemic when staffing shortages were severe.  

According to the complaint, in late April 2025, Los Angeles Times reporters began making inquiries regarding Escobar’s overtime earnings. The suit alleges that the Mayor’s Office directed LAFD leadership to abandon its standard response regarding staffing shortages and overtime needs, and instead issue a statement asserting that the department had launched a “comprehensive review and overhaul” of procedures related to union release time and overtime tracking.  

The complaint alleges that no such review or overhaul actually existed and that the statement was intended to imply wrongdoing or overtime fraud by Escobar.  

Escobar further alleges that several firefighters assigned to headquarters later informed him that the Mayor and her staff had instructed LAFD leadership to issue the statement.  

The lawsuit asserts four causes of action:

• Violation of the First Amendment under 42 U.S.C. § 1983;
• Municipal liability under Monell;
• Retaliation under California Labor Code § 1102.5; and
• Violations of the California Constitution’s free speech and privacy protections.  

Escobar seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages against the individual defendants, injunctive relief, attorneys’ fees, and other relief.  

Here is more on the story, including some financial concerns within IAFF Local 112.