Elaine Forbes, Sausalito’s city manager and the former director of the Port of San Francisco, was arrested Saturday morning on suspicion of burglary during what her family calls “a mental health crisis.”
Marin County jail records show the Marin County Sheriff’s Office arrested Forbes, 53, just before 7 a.m. Saturday at the Sausalito Yacht Harbor.
The sheriff’s office told the Marin Independent Journal that officers found Forbes inside someone else’s yacht after receiving a phone call about a burglary. They allege Forbes told the officers she was having a “bad morning” and told them to get off her boat, the outlet reported.
Jail records list show Forbes was arrested on suspicion of felony burglary with a bail of $50,000.
In a statement attributed to Forbes and her family, spokesperson Sam Singer said Forbes is “experiencing a mental health crisis” and asked that people not “rush to judgment based on limited information.”
Elaine Forbes, former executive director of the Port of San Francisco, has been arrested on suspicion of burglary while on leave from her job as Sausalito city manager, the city announced Sunday. (Constanza Hevia H./For the S.F. Chronicle)
The city of Sausalito confirmed Forbes’ arrest in a statement released Sunday and said she had been placed on a leave of absence during a closed session of City Council held Thursday, two days before her arrest. A spokesperson for the city declined to comment on what led to the leave of absence.
“This is a difficult development for our City staff and our community. Because this is now an active and ongoing investigation by the Marin County Sheriff’s Office, the City will not comment on the specific allegations,” the city wrote in its statement. “It is anticipated the City Council will discuss next steps at its upcoming City Council meeting.”
Forbes started her position as city manager on the first of the month. Before that, she had served as executive director of the Port of San Francisco for nearly a decade, during which time she oversaw efforts to revive the waterfront after the COVID-19 pandemic and pushed for major capital projects to address vulnerability to sea level rise.
“Elaine Forbes has devoted much of her life to public service and is widely respected by the many people who have worked with her over the years,” said the statement shared by Singer. “As the facts become clearer and Elaine obtains legal and healthcare counsel in the coming hours and days, we hope people will respond with compassion, patience and respect for her and her family during an extraordinarily difficult time.”
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This article originally published at Sausalito official, an ex-S.F. port chief, arrested – family cites ‘mental health crisis’.