UPDATE: Robert Paoletti steps down as Redding police chief

Redding officials announced Tuesday that Redding Police Chief Robert Paoletti's will no longer be chief.

Although city officials did not specifically say Paoletti has been fired, a news release said he "agreed to separate" from the city, effective today.

His abrupt departure comes a week after Barry Tippin took over as city manager.

Tippin, who could not be reached Monday evening for comment, said in the news release issued today that Paoletti has been a good police chief.

"Rob has been a good police chief and I have the utmost respect for him," he says. "We are at a point in time; however, that we need to find a new pathway to work on the public safety issues we are facing as a community."

The release goes on to say significant changes in state laws have created substantial changes and challenges in the criminal justice system that that the city is working to adapt to them.

"Redding Police officers are outstanding and this change in direction has no reflection on our officers or the excellent work that they do," Tippin said.

Capt. Eric Wallace will serve as interim police chief.

Recruitment for a a permanent chief will begin soon.

City Councilwoman Julie Winter said Monday evening she hasn't spoken to the city manager but received an email saying Tuesday would be the chief's last day.

Ed Rullman, head of the Redding Merchants Crime Watch, said Paoletti called him personally to let him know Tuesday would be his last day as chief of police.

Rullman said he is disappointed in how Paoletti was let go and the lack of transparency from city hall over the firing.

Paoletti has done his best with what he's been given, said Rullman.

"It's stupid to blame the chief of police, someone who speaks his mind on the issues we're facing, to blame him for everything that’s going on in the city," Rullman said.

"It’s a shame that it has come to this."

Paoletti had been chief in Redding since 2011, when he was hired to replace Peter Hansen. He's a 27-year veteran of the California Army National Guard.

More: Paoletti: My intent is to stay in Redding

Paoletti said recently that he was looking for other jobs as former Redding City Manager Kurt Starman's retirement loomed in May.

“With the change in city manager, there comes unknowns for me as a police chief. I don’t know who the new city manager is going to be or what direction they choose to go,” Paoletti said on May 22, just three days after now-retired City Manager Kurt Starman confirmed Paoletti was in the running for a Bay Area police chief job.

“In the end, I’m 47, I’m at-will and I have a family to take care of. So, I opened some doors and I’ll meet with the new city manager and I’ll see what the future holds,” he said. “I love this community and I love this department and my intent is to stay here. Ultimately, that is the new city manager’s decision and hopefully he’ll decide that that’s the case.”

More: Paoletti may leave Redding for Bay Area chief job

During Paoletti's time as police chief, Redding weathered the impacts of Assembly Bill 109, more commonly known as prison realignment, which shifted former prison inmates to county supervision, and Proposition 47, the 2014 state ballot initiative that reclassified some felony drug and property crimes as misdemeanors.

Paoletti and other local law enforcement leaders have blamed both measures for recent crime increases, though crime rates remain at or below levels seen 20 years ago.

More: Paoletti highlights staffing needs in strategic plan

He was also instrumental in the Blueprint for Public Safety process, during which he challenged findings from a Bay Area consultant that the Police Department had enough officers but needed to change officers' schedules and focus more on the homeless. Paoletti had long said he needed to expand the police force to meet the needs of the community, including increasing patrol and creating a vice unit.

More: Paoletti pushes methadone clinic to curb drug-fueled crime

In the past year, Paoletti also came out in support of a methadone clinic in Redding, saying in April 2016 that, "We have to find some solutions to some of these issues and if you look at the majority of the recent robbery suspects we have, they are addicted to heroin."

More: Computer upgrade brings local police into 21st century

Paoletti helped move the department from its former downtown headquarters to a new patrol building at the City Hall campus on Cypress Avenue. Earlier in May, he also gained approval for a new computer system to replace the 30-year-old current system used by law enforcement agencies countywide.

He helped to re-establish the popular neighborhood policing unit, which concentrates a team of officers on problem areas in downtown Redding and on Hilltop Drive. The team was going to be disbanded later this month but got a reprieve when Bethel Church donated $500,000 to keep it going for another year. The church is also leading a fundraising campaign to fund the unit through June 2019.