The H Street Bridge near Sacramento State University has been renamed in honor of Tara O’Sullivan, a Sacramento Police officer who was killed in the line of duty.
The renaming of the structure – now officially known as the Tara O’Sullivan Memorial Bridge — was spearheaded by Councilmember Jeff Harris, with support from neighborhood residents.
Harris, Councilmember Eric Guerra and members of the Sacramento Police Department, the City of Sacramento, Sacramento State University and the O’Sullivan family on Feb. 6 attended a small dedication ceremony for the bridge.
“We are here to celebrate someone who we lost, someone who we loved very much,” Harris said in his opening remarks.
Backdropped by new signage with O’Sullivan’s name adorning the bridge, Pastor Anthony Sadler from the Shiloh Baptist Church addressed attendees by referencing lyrics from the song “Bridge over Troubled Water,” which he said was “about providing comfort for those in need.”
“Tara was a bridge,” Sadler said. “She was created by God to help people cross safely through the dangerous crossings in life.”
After thanking the O’Sullivan family for their sacrifice and their strength and grace in the face of tragedy, Sacramento Police Chief Kathy Lester called the dedication “bittersweet,” with the bridge serving as a way for O’Sullivan’s life, legacy and memory to live on and continue to inspire others.
“When I see this bridge, I don’t think of bad things,” Lester said. “I think of all the things the O’Sullivan family has done for our department.”
“No one has given more to this city than Tara and the O’Sullivan family,” said former Sacramento Police Chief Daniel Hahn. “It’s a debt that can never be repaid.”
In addition to working for the Sacramento Police Department, O’Sullivan was a graduate of Sacramento State University and its Law Enforcement Candidate Scholars’ (LECS) program.
“Sac State is incredibly proud of Tara,” said university President Robert Nelsen, who said he knew O’Sullivan when she was a student serving meals on campus and has a photo of her hanging in his office. “She epitomizes the best of the best, and she will be in our hearts forever.”
Growing up in the East Bay before attending Sac State, O’Sullivan joined the Sacramento Police Department in 2018. She was fatally shot in 2019 while responding to a domestic violence call.