Tiburon officer charged with DUI, child cruelty, pleads not guilty

Tiburon police officer William Forrest Condit has pleaded not guilty to one count of misdemeanor child cruelty and two counts of misdemeanor drunken driving following his Oct. 13 arrest near downtown Petaluma. Both DUI counts carry sentencing-enhancement requests for endangerment of a child passenger.

The 33-year-old Sebastopol resident entered the plea in Sonoma County Superior Court Nov. 10. The county District Attorney’s Office formally filed the charges Nov. 5.

Condit has been with the Tiburon Police Department since 2019 and was placed on administrative leave following his arrest, Chief Michelle Jean said last month. He was off duty when Petaluma police conducted a traffic stop after observing indications of impaired driving, authorities said.

Petaluma police and the District Attorney’s Office both declined to comment on further details, including Condit’s relationship to the child, his blood-alcohol level or how it was measured.

The DUI charges are for driving under the influence of alcohol and for driving with a blood-alcohol content exceeding 0.08%, California’s legal maximum for those 21 and older.

If convicted, Condit could face up to six months in jail, more than $10,000 in fines after penalty assessments, suspension of his driver’s license and probation. The child-endangerment enhancements each carry an additional mandatory 48 hours in jail.

Under state law, a defendant can be charged with but not convicted of both the endangerment enhancements and the child-cruelty charge for the same incident.

If convicted of the cruelty charge instead, Condit could face an additional one year in jail, another $5,000 in fines after penalties, mandatory probation of at least four years and a mandatory criminal protective order.

Jean said Oct. 20 that the town is reviewing the case with an independent investigator to determine whether any department policies were violated.

“Pending the results of both the criminal investigation and administrative review, (we) will take appropriate action that reflects the values of the department,” she said.

Jean did not respond to requests for comment after the charges were filed.

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