Section Of I-680 Renamed In Honor Of Fallen BART Officer

SAN RAMON, CA — A section of Interstate 680 in San Ramon has been renamed to pay homage to a BART officer who was killed in the line of duty while serving a search warrant in Dublin in 2014. On Wednesday, in front of his family and friends, Assemblywoman Catharine Baker unveiled the Sergeant Thomas A. Smith, Jr. Memorial Highway sign at the Amador Rancho Center in San Ramon.

The section of the highway between Bollinger Canyon Road and Crow Canyon Road was selected because Smith’s badge number, 34, was the Bollinger Canyon Road exit number. Baker authored the resolution and it was passed by the State Legislature.

Smith, 42, a 23-year veteran at BART, was fatally shot when he led a team of eight officers in a search of a robbery suspect's apartment located at 6450 Dougherty Road in Dublin at about 2 p.m. on Jan. 21, 2014.

He was killed by Detective Michael Maes, a law enforcement veteran with 26 years of experience who said he mistook Smith for an armed suspect during the search.

Bay City News contributed to this report.
Photo courtesy J. Thalblum