>> good evening, it's my honor to speak to you in regards to the arrest in which mike simmons receive this silver medal of valor tonight. on tuesday, february 1, 2011, at 3 p.m., officer simmons was working an assignment at the bank of america at 1525 market street. mike was there to work a security assignment at the bank. as well as monitor a protest that was going on outside. where there was over 50 participants in the protest. a career criminal by the name of joseph hike, chose this day to commit a robbery. mr. hike has been arrested 21

sometime -- 21 times in the city of san francisco. mr. hike produced a handgun to a teller face and ordered her to put all the money in the paper bag as he held a gun to her face. officer simmons was inside the bank at which time he observed there was a robbery in process inside of the bank. officer simmons immediately notified communications and called for back-up. knowing that he was inside of the bank, officer simmons turned off his radio not to alert the suspect and knowing that dispatch acknowledged that he needed emergency assistance. officer simmons then developed a plan on how he would get closer to the suspect who was committing the robbery. officer simmons took up several

different positions of concealment as he crept closer and closer to the bank robbery suspect. while doing this, mr. hike still had the gun out and pointing it at the teller's face. officer simmons noticed that hike start to shake erratically with the gun in his hand. and was concerned of his safety and the safety of the approximately 50 people in the bank. officer simmons drew his firearm but reholsterred because he was in fear of hurting someone in the bank or creating a hostage situation. after holsterring his firearm he got as close to the suspect to take action. he observed mr. hike turn his

focus to the money being placed in the bag. at that point officer simmons knowing that he couldn't wait for back-up and not wanting to make the situation worse pounced on mr. hike very quickly. with total disregard for his own safety, he engaged in a violent struggle with an armed suspect. until he was finally taken in custody and the gun went sliding across the bank. officer simmons displayed outstanding bravery in the face of danger and finally his back-up arrived. his quick actions foiled a robbery that could result in the loss of his life and those inside and out of the bank. being alone did not deter officer simmons of his duty to protect the public. he did so

with his own risk of personal safety and his actions displayed courage. ladies and gentlemen, officer simmons is awarded the silver medal of valor. [applause]

>> officer michael simmons. [applause] captain mcfadden, please. and may i have sergeant dominco defida. >> on october 25, 2012, at approximately 1:30 in the morning. sergeant domenico was working as an investigator with the major crimes investigation unit. while conducting a robbery

investigation, sergeant noticed a gray buick pass by him. he again noticed the vehicle as he surveilled areas around for possible robberies. as he drove the area, sergeant noticed that the same buick was traveling behind him and following closely. sergeant made several attempts to elude the vehicle behind him. though it continued to follow closely as he made multiple turns. and sergeant decided to make a u-turn to see if the vehicle would follow him and it followed closely behind. at silver avenue, the vehicle pulled up to sergeant's vehicle and fired shots and tristrikinge

vehicle as he duck for cover. the suspects sped away north on bay shore towards industrial way. without hesitation or due regard for his own safety, sergeant pursued the armed suspects. he immediately notified dispatch and continued to pursue the vehicle northbound on the 101 freeway. the vehicle exited at caesar chavez and patrillo with the sergeant close behind as he gave out vehicle descriptions. the occupants fired at sergeant several more time as he followed undeterred in his actions to apprehend them. the suspect vehicle stopped on the 2500 block of bryant street.

where the occupants jumped out and fled towards 23rd. sergeant exited his vehicle and took the driver of the suspect vehicle in custody by himself while he radioed the location of the other two fleeing suspects. sergeant continued for corresponding units for the apprehension of other two. he later observed two bullet holes in his vehicle that led to the apprehension of the other two suspects and two firearms. sergeant desenza continued apprehension of two criminals and his quick actions led to the arrest of the three suspects that otherwise will be a constant threat to the citizens

of san francisco, i think that the best compliment you could give to victor is that you have family members in risk, you want him to follow up. sergeant dasenza is awarded the silver medal of valor. [applause]

>> sergeant dacenza. his award was the last one for the evening and the chief will give closing comments and after that i will make an announcement. >> so we are almost home, you can tell from the tales you heard, that the phrase that comes from mind from that same "three musketeers" movie is magnificent valor. [applause] so they have made the mistake of allowing us into this beautiful hall. so we should keep control of it as long as we can. please, family, friends, everyone, let's celebrate these

people that give no greater credence to the phrase, sf's finest than those accounts you heard. we will mill around and take pictures. i would ask that the group that received awards are since we didn't have room, if you would stay in your seats or the front row, we can get a picture of everyone, that would be a great keep sake before adjourning to the place for refreshments. with that, i will give it back to sergeant monroe, and thank you mayor and the commissioners and the captains, and for reading those, though captain mcfadden you cannot wound a car -- i will straighten that out with them later. again thank you again for coming. >> so can we please rise for the retrieval of the colors, please.

>> another round of applause for the color guard, please. also a couple of final things. i have noticed that supervisor breed showed up from district 5. thank you, supervisor. and we have a reception at the top of the stairs. and si -- and i have been waiting to say this all night, in the all of antiquities. i want to thank everyone and the

families and the officers who were not here that are out on the street doing what these guys do every day. thank you very much. [horns honking] [siren wails]

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>> ladies and gentlemen, please rise for the presentation of the colors and the singing of the national anthem. ♪

♪ [ applause ] >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome steve hengineg executive director metropolitan transportation commission. >> good afternoon, good

afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the toll bridge program oversight committee and my committee colleagues, and the director of cal transand the executive director of the california transportation commission, it is my great pleasure to welcome you at long last, to the opening ceremonies for the new east band of the san francisco oakland bay bridge. that is an applause line. [ applause ] >> i know that you joined me in thanking the oakland institute color guard and the choir, and their wonderful presentation and our ceremonies. [ applause ] >> and i guess that i will not ask you if it is hot enough.

and it certainly is, so do please, keep cool and gentleman take off your jackets if you need to and keep the water going and keep an eye on your neighbor. and i'm going to ask you to rise again and that might create more air to hear our invocation from the reverend jay junior, from the oakland baptist church. >> let us pray. oh, lord our god thou who art the architect, engineer and creator of the universe, we have gathered on this historic occasion in a spirit of joy and celebration. oh, god we give thanks for the

generosity of your divine grace and for the supply of the needed material resources and for the provision of human expertise to accomplish this magnificent project. we lift up thanks for the commitment, cooperation, and hard work by so many people in so many roles and at so many levels of responsibility to bring this beautiful bridge from creative conception to concrete completion. we pray your blessings upon this illustrious bridge and for the safety and well-being of all who shall traverse it. blessed oh, god, this

triumphant celebration that we share. may this awe inspiring bridge inspire us all to reach our human potential as human bridges that will seek to bridge the gulfs that separate our diverse communities. may we too be bridges that will connect people and bring them together, may we too be bridges that will provide for the common good may this wonderful bridge, this open inspire us to continue to envision bold and beautiful fetes in the service of all human kind.

amen >> amen. >> thank you, reverend smith. the coats will keep peeling off as we go we will see who the last hold on out is. and i would also like to take this opportunity to welcome you to this building. and the newly renovated urban electric railway bridge yard shop building. and also known as urbies for short. and that is one lowsy, and so we decided to rename it the bridge yard, which is the sign on the side of the building, this is what has prepared the key system train that used to run on the lower deck of the bay bridge before the commuter rail service seized? 1958 and for those transit advocate whose would like to blame me for that mistake, i hasten to add the train stop that was built the year before i was born.

>> now it is time to wax poetic and we happen to have the person for the job, currently a professor of creative writing at uc river side and was craoe put to his post in 2012 and it is my pleasure to introduce him who has written a poem about our beautiful new bridge. >> thank you, very much. it is a great pleasure to be here you look fabulous and this looks fabulous and i want to thank governor brown, for nominating me and confirming me as your poet laurit, and i would like to thank the arts council for doing the same and the university california river side and the department of transportation, and thank you so much. and i also wanted to introduce you to our youth poet of oakland, davis who is 70 years

old and right there standing up. he is our new lauriet for oakland. >> thank you so much, my wife is right there, and who is my great inspiration and hadari who works so much for oakland and the arts. the bridge poem bay bridge inauguration poem, san francisco oakland bay bridge, september 2, 2013. for all bridge dreamers, bridge builders and bridge crossers. self-sustaining, and a light unto itself. the dark that lifts us and it sings us as we pass bay bridge, i see you now, your new design risen, above star waters, a new

galaxy appears. a new trillion may we live in your safety and in your carriage, and in your heart. my all of your hours and all of your lights embrace us once again. and may we crawl across your shoulders as bird, fish, singers and may we be the bridge for a new time of beauty and peace. let us thank the workers and the artists of space and matter, one sound, one tree, one knitted, (inaudible) shawl, for our mothers, a lot she turns and protect and renewed waves of children, we are born to the choirs, and we are filled with light, strength, height, gratitude and violet ocean, stillness and we open our arms, our bridge of many

bridges. and everything is different now. melodic, silver, harmonious, and everything is open now. spiritual, inhalation of the pacific rim, voyages migrations and the conversations of generations. and i want you to repeat this word after me, i am going to back up. conversations. viva. >> viva, >> the worker applaud now, iron workers, painters, welders, planners, architects engineers, laborers, trades women, drivers, viva. >> lifters, callers, crane operators, viva. >> mixers, cable, viva. >> viva. after the earthquake, we shall live, yes. we shall live, we shall round dance in honor and spider buggy

is coming up and light poles are holding steady and steady, and set up and north main span cable ready, ready. motion sense soars mr. pump, expansion tank, spider buggies coming up, spider buggies coming up. we shall live in our lumenscent room of lights and cosmos yes. we shall hula dance in unity once again today. yes. and hand to hand, shoulder to shoulder, and wo ven and winged dancer we shall alive, gold and silver, and dark sequence with joy. we shall live, crossing into the other, from one to the second. and from the second to the late infinity, today, the chain is

cut, and we are released, oakland, san francisco, earth, to all earth, ocean to sky, wind to star nebula once again you and me, we, the people, the people, (inaudible) it is the people, bay bridge, hold on to each other. move now. rise now. for the world to see. thank you so much. [ applause ] >> thank you very much for those artful words and it is hard to believe that you are from southern california. you are welcome here any time.