SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif- Two cities are without Police Chief's at the moment. It isn't easy for cities to fill this void, in fact Captains have to take on two jobs. "Typically they are stepping in with a moments notice and thrown into a wide variety of issues," says Jim App, Paso Robles City Manager. In their case, Chief Lisa Soloman stepped down in April after controversy over her behavior.
For months Captain Robert Burton has been in charge. "People got stirred up with this latest situation, so some are very concerned, very vocal, very interested." All eyes are on Paso to find a Chief that works for everyone, even if that means Chief Burton stays on double duty for now. "We want to be sure we get the right person, so time is less important than the right person," says App.
Captain Chris Staley, from the San Luis Obispo Police Department says he was fortunate back in December because he only needed to step in as chief for a month.
"It was just a balancing act of trying to really balance your time and trying to make sure you didn't let anything fall through the cracks during that time."
Captain Staley says the situation in Paso and now in Santa Maria with Chief Dan Macagni being placed on administrative leave, could cause some strain. "Whenever you have a situation like that, when they are stepping in after a controversial situation at a department, I would think that you are under a microscope and people are really watching every move the department makes."
