LA Fire Chief naively baited by a reporter [View all]

I was watching the live stream from one of the LA local TV channels (GDLA+). A reporter interviewed LA's fire chief Kristen Crowley, asking her baiting and leading questions trying to get her to blame and criticize the mayor. The reporter also tried to get her to acknowledge that prior cuts led to preventable harm.

The chief naively took the bait, breaking comradery during a crisis, and laying blame on city hall. She did not know how to break off the interview, while the reporter pecked away at her like a vulture on a carcass.

The chief was wrong for two big reasons.
1. She criticized the mayor during a crisis instead of focusing on immediate actions going forward.
2. She allowed the interview to be used to publicly blame others.

I couldn't tell if the Chief lacked sophistication in dealing with reporters or really wanted to shank the mayor. To me it looked like a sophistication issue because the chief is appointed by the mayor.

The chief and the mayor were supposed to appear together at a press conference tonight and they changed it to a written statement.

The interview and people's perception of how the fires were handled likely mean that Bass' political career is done, at least at the executive level.

You can see the interview here:

The very beginning of the interview is clipped off on the video above. You can see the entire thing here. Go to 12PM.



I checked in at 6:38PM PT on the video and they are discussing it.