Choudri, the chief executive of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, is taking a leave of absence after an arrest earlier this month in the Sacramento area, according to statements from the authority and related reporting. The authority said the leave would allow it to review what happened while its work continues.
The arrest occurred Feb. 4 in Folsom, a city near Sacramento, when Folsom Police Department Lt. Lou Wright said Choudri was taken into custody. The department did not provide additional details about what happened.
The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office said it was not pressing charges. Prosecutors said there was not enough evidence to file charges after law enforcement arrested Choudri and his fiancee but did not find injuries on either person. The office said it takes domestic violence allegations “incredibly seriously,” “regardless of who the suspect is or what position they hold in our community.”
Choudri’s attorney, Allen Sawyer, said Choudri chose to take “a few days” away from his job. Sawyer emphasized in a statement that prosecutors had not asked Choudri to appear in court and said Choudri’s family needed time “to privately process and heal.” Sawyer added that Choudri remained committed to his work and that the short absence would give the board room to independently review the legal process’s conclusions.
A spokesperson for the rail authority said the leave would let the authority and the state transportation agency review the circumstances of the arrest. In its statement, the authority said, “We are taking this matter seriously, consistent with our longstanding commitment to public responsibility, transparency, and accountability,” and said the project’s work would continue without interruption.
The arrest came to public attention this week after KCRA-TV in Sacramento first reported it. In an earlier statement to The Associated Press, Choudri said last year that he wanted to “completely turn it around” and stabilize funding for California’s high-speed rail project, which has faced years of delays, scrutiny over its rising cost, and changing government support.
The long-delayed project, originally intended to link San Francisco and Los Angeles, has undergone major schedule and cost revisions over time. California voters initially approved $10 billion in bonds in 2008 to cover about a third of the cost, but officials now say the route could cost more than $120 billion and that the Central Valley section alone could open by 2032.
After last year’s changes to federal funding, the project also has relied on state support. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers approved $1 billion annually for the rail project through 2045 from revenues the state receives from its cap-and-trade program, which aims to reduce planet-warming pollution from large emitters.