ST. PAUL (AP) - St. Paul Fire Chief Tim Butler is stepping down after more than 10 years of leading the department.

The announcement by St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman comes days after it was made public that Butler was reprimanded by the city in 2016 for retaliating against an employee. The case was one of five misconduct complaints made against Butler.

The investigation into Butler's actions was completed in 2016, but the findings weren't immediately released publicly because Butler appealed the decision to Coleman and St. Paul Deputy Mayor Kristin Beckmann.

Beckmann said that Butler's actions put the complainant in an ``extremely difficult'' position because of the authority he yielded as fire chief.

Butler's letter to Coleman asks that he be reinstated to his previous title of fire emergency management and communications chief.

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