California’s Highest-Paid Employee Never Worked | Irvine News

Presented by The Plant Daddies — rare specimen trees, living art, and hand-carved limestone vessels and fountains for extraordinary spaces. Showrooms in Los Angeles and Irvine. Listeners of Irvine News Today receive 10% off with code LANEWS10. theplantdaddies.com/lanews The highest-paid city employee in California in 2025 wasn’t a tech titan or lawyer—it was Travis Martinez, a former Redlands police chief who never worked a single day that year. On paid leave for 18 months before retiring, he walked away with over $1.2 million in compensation, including salary, bonuses, and covered benefits. His payout outpaced LA’s top fire and utility supervisors. The scandal? Martinez had reported serious misconduct—including a fatal train crash cover-up and sexual harassment allegations—only to be pressured into silence. He eventually retired in exchange for a settlement after filing a retaliation claim with the FBI. His case is part of a broader pattern of misconduct and settlements rocking the Redlands Police Department, raising questions about accountability and whether speaking up truly costs you your job. Listen in comfort:Get a discount on a Soli Pillow: http://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/f5cd6c144b424b52