A Los Angeles firefighters union treasurer says a former union president punched him in the groin following a tense board meeting earlier this week, an allegation the former union president flatly denies. Jason Powell, treasurer of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, told police that Freddy Escobar struck him after Friday’s meeting, which was called to discuss additional campaign spending on Measure FD, the firefighters’ sales tax measure on next month’s ballot.
Powell said Escobar attended the meeting while on duty with his crew on a fire engine, according to the Los Angeles Times, which first reported the allegation. Powell said Escobar called some board members incompetent during the meeting and told Powell to stop working overtime — a practice union officers use to supplement their stipends with extra pay, per the paper’s report. Powell said he responded by telling Escobar to shave his mustache and leave the building, and asked him whether he had come to write the union a check.
It was after that exchange, Powell said, that Escobar punched him in the groin, causing him to keel over. Powell said three or four people witnessed the alleged punch. He reported the incident to police and said he planned to seek medical care. Escobar denied punching Powell, saying the alleged act was not his style; he did not offer further detail about the exchange beyond that denial.
Police Receive Battery Call; LAFD Refers Matter for Review
Los Angeles police officers received a radio call about a battery on Friday in the 1500 block of Beverly Boulevard, according to Officer Alondra Garcia. LAFD spokesperson Stephanie Bishop said the matter has been referred to the department’s Professional Standards Division for an internal investigation, adding that the department takes the matter seriously and will follow its established investigative and review processes.
Doug Coates declined to comment on the incident, citing the active investigation, and said he did not see what happened. The dispute unfolded at the same meeting where the union board approved spending an additional $3 million on the Measure FD campaign, Powell said.
A Rivalry Rooted in a Financial Scandal
The friction between Powell and Escobar did not begin on Friday. It traces back to October 2024, when Powell reported improper credit card spending and documentation concerns directly to officials at the International Assn. of Fire Fighters, the union’s parent organization, according to the Los Angeles Times. That report triggered an audit.
The resulting 2025 IAFF audit found that Escobar made 1,957 transactions on his union credit card between July 2018 and November 2024, totaling $311,498, with more than 70% of that spending — $230,466 — lacking required documentation, as reported by CBS News. The IAFF ultimately determined that $800,000 in credit card purchases across the union were not properly documented, and Escobar and two other union leaders were suspended from their positions in 2025. Internal audit records show accounting deficiencies at the union had already been flagged as early as March 2024; that year alone, Escobar made 339 credit card transactions totaling $71,671 without submitting any receipts.
After an internal trial, the IAFF retained some charges against Escobar, including failure to provide full and accurate accounting, conduct detrimental to the IAFF, and unbecoming conduct. The organization dismissed its most serious charges, including incompetence, negligence and failure of duty. Following the suspensions, IAFF leadership appointed John Bagala, president of Marin Professional Firefighters Local 1775, as conservator to manage the local union’s finances, according to Firehouse Magazine.
Escobar’s Separate Legal Fight With City Hall
Escobar has been entangled in a separate legal battle since filing a federal lawsuit against Mayor Karen Bass and the city in May, alleging officials ran a retaliatory smear campaign against him after he publicly criticized LAFD underfunding during the January 2025 Palisades Fire, per KFI AM 640. Hoodline previously covered Escobar’s suit against Bass. Former LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley, whom Bass removed in February 2025 following the same wildfire, also filed retaliation and defamation lawsuits in February and June, according to MyNewsLA.
Before his suspension, city compensation records showed Escobar earned more than $500,000 in 2022 by combining his union stipend with LAFD firefighting overtime, averaging 78 hours of work per week, according to Fire Rescue 1.
Measure FD Fight Raises the Stakes
The union's push on Measure FD comes amid a high-profile political battle. If approved by voters on November 3, the measure would raise the city’s sales tax rate from 10.25% to 10.75%, generating an estimated $345 million annually for LAFD staffing, equipment and station upgrades, according to LAist. The union represents more than 3,600 active rank-and-file firefighters and paramedics operating out of 106 fire stations citywide.
The measure faces active opposition from the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union representing LAPD officers, which pledged this month to spend millions of dollars to defeat the firefighters’ sales tax initiative. The dueling union campaigns underscore how much is riding on the November vote, even as the firefighters’ own local remains under a conservator and now faces a battery allegation among its highest-ranking current and former officials.
