During an interview with “CBS Evening News” that took place on Thursday and was released on Friday, LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley denied that diversity initiatives have harmed the department’s ability to respond to emergencies like the recent fires and stated, “my number one priority is making sure that we can take care of the community that we took an oath to take care of, and with that is our ability to respond to emergencies.”

Crowley stated, “My top three priorities since day one [have] been this, I want to clearly articulate that: The number one priority from day one is ensuring that the LAFD has the capability to respond to our emergency calls, that we’re able to provide services to the citizens every single day, every single hour. That’s my number one priority.”

She continued, “The number two priority has been and will continue to be focusing on our firefighters’ safety, health, and well-being. My third priority is encouraging a positive work environment, and that has not changed since day one.”

Host Norah O’Donnell then asked, “And has that effort at diversity been over your efforts in order to fight these fires? Because that’s been the criticism. You know it’s out there.”

Crowley responded, “Absolutely not. Again, my number one priority is making sure that we can take care of the community that we took an oath to take care of, and with that is our ability to respond to emergencies.”

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