Redlands police chief to retire
Christopher Catren announces retirement due to injury; Rachel Tobler named interim chief
Redlands Police Chief Christopher Catren plans to retire, the city announced in a news release Thursday.
According to the release, Catren at a meeting with department personnel Wednesday announced his plans to retire due to disability as the result of a workrelated back injury. No date has been set for his retirement, pending coordination with the California Public Employees Retirement System.
Redlands City Manager Charles Duggan said he was saddened by the news.
“This comes far too soon for me,” Duggan said in a statement Thursday. “I’ve greatly enjoyed working with Chris and having him be a vital part of our team. I‘m grateful to have had the chance to work with him and admire all of the things he has done for Redlands during his very successful career. Chris has been an exceptional chief of police and I was looking forward to working with him for many more years.”
Cmdr. Rachel Tolber was named interim chief of police pending the selection of a permanent replacement, the city said in the news release.
Tolber began her career at the Redlands Police Department in 1998, where she is currently a commander overseeing the Special Services Bureau. She has served the department in a variety of positions, including field training officer, patrol officer and supervisor, detective, range master, investigations supervisor, crisis negotiator, training manager and professional standards, department spokesman Carl Baker said.
Tolber was also instrumental in creating the Police and Corrections Team and spearheaded the Citizen Volunteer Park Rangers for the city. She served as an executive intern to the Redlands city manager, where she helped lead policy and strategic initiatives adopted and implemented by city executives. She has received civic recognitions and honors for her leadership, work and service, Baker said.
Deputy Chief Travis Martinez commended Tolber on her bump
to interim chief on Thursday, saying he had “the utmost confidence that she will do a great job.”
“I completely support her as we strive to make improvements,” said Martinez, a 28-year veteran of the department.
Catren, who worked his way up the ranks in his 28 years in Redlands, was selected to lead Police Department on Dec. 20, 2017, following the retirement of former Chief Mark Garcia.
“It has been an honor and privilege to serve the Redlands community for over 28 years including the past five years as Chief of Police,” Catren said in a statement Thursday.
“The support I've received from past and current members of this department, city staff and the community has made this career fulfilling, fun and impactful,” he added. “I am incredibly proud of the Redlands Police Department staff and their dedication to the residents and visitors of this city. I am confident the department will continue to grow and thrive while providing top-tier policing services.”
Catren began his career in law enforcement with the Redlands Police Department in 1994 as the department's first crime analyst. In this role, he quickly learned the value of transforming data into information to further the department's prevention, intervention and suppression activities.
In 1996 Catren became a sworn police officer and worked his way through the ranks to include assignments as an investigator, training officer, field supervisor, detective and sergeant. His supervisory positions included investigations, patrol, field training coordinator and reserve police officer coordinator. In 2003, Catren was assigned as lead detective on the high profile murder case of Crafton Hills college student 18-yearold Kelly Bullwinkle, who was shot in the head and buried in an orange grove in Live Oak Canyon by her two friends, Damien Matthew Guerrero and Kinzie Gene Noordman.
The murder case made national headlines because of the sensational nature of the killing and the Gothic subculture in which Guerrero, Noordman and Bullwinkle were immersed. Guerrero, now 38, and Noordman, now 39, were 19 and 20 years old, respectively, at the time of the killing.
In February, Guerrero was granted parole after serving more than 19 years behind bars. But his parole remains tentative pending final review by the Board of Parole Hearings and then the governor, which can take up to 150 days.
A jury convicted Noordman of first-degree murder. She was sentenced to 45 years in prison.
In 2007 Catren was promoted to lieutenant and managed the Investigative Services Bureau, the Patrol Services Bureau and the Special Operations Bureau during his tenure. He was promoted to commander in 2013 and oversaw each of the department's divisions before promoting to the position of chief.
Catren possesses a bachelor's degree in business administration and a master's degree in public administration from Cal State San Bernardino. He graduated from the California POST Command College in 2012.
He is past president of the San Bernardino County Police Chiefs' Association, a member of the League of California Cities Board of Directors and is current president of the California Police Chiefs Association.