Robert Paoletti is officially no longer Redding’s police chief. Barry Tippin, who has only been the City Manager for a week following his appointment by the city council, made the announcement Tuesday. Tippin says he has the utmost respect for Paoletti, but he says the city is seeking a new direction. Tippin is the former REU Director and Assistant City Manager. In giving him the City Manager job, the council gave him a list of expectations, with the number one item being to reduce crime and increase public safety. Paoletti came to Redding from Stockton in 2011 to replace Pete Hansen. Paoletti is also a high ranking officer of the California Army National Guard. Three weeks ago former City Manager Kurt Starman revealed that Paoletti was a candidate for a police chief position in a Bay Area city. Paoletti had said he needed to keep his options open because of the possibility that the new city manager -whoever that turned out to be- may decide to let him go. When we spoke with Tippin Tuesday he would not specify any reasons why he had a problem with Paoletti’s leadership, but he did mention the changes that have come about as a result of the AB-109 prison realignment and the Proposition 47 sentencing restructuring. Tippin says it didn’t come as a complete surprise to Paoletti because they had been discussing the direction of the department for some time. He expects a 4 to 6 month recruitment process for a new chief. In the meantime Captain Eric Wallace will serve as interim chief.
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