BART to pay $6.75 million settlement in police shooting at Union City station
By Carlos E. Castañeda
Bay Area Rapid Transit will pay $6.75 million to a woman who was shot by a BART police officer last year at the Union City station as part of a lawsuit settlement, the agency said Friday.
The incident happened on Nov. 18, 2024, at 9:30 p.m. in the station parking lot. Two BART police officers were investigating reports of a vehicle doing donuts in the parking lot and were questioning 33-year-old Jasmine Gao, who was in her vehicle.
The officers cleared Gao of driving recklessly after noting her tires were cold. Video from officers’ body-worn cameras showed officers determined that Gao’s vehicle’s registration appeared to be expired, and they continued to question her as Gao became increasingly agitated and erratic.
At one point, Gao snatched her driver license out of an officer’s hand, prompting the officers to forcefully try to remove her from her vehicle as she exclaimed, “Stop! You’re scaring me!”
Gao then drove away, and Officer Nicholas Poblete opened fire at the vehicle, hitting Gao in the back. Her attorney said in a statement that the bullet barely missed her heart, and Gao was left with “significant physical and emotional distress injuries.”
The original police report said Gao assaulted the officers with her vehicle, and that was the reason for the shots being fired. About 12 hours after the shooting, BART Police Chief Kevin Franklin issued a statement saying aside from the assault charge, Gao would be charged with evading, resisting arrest, and had two outstanding arrest warrants.
However, after the police body cam video was released, it was determined that the police report was not accurate. No criminal charges were ever filed against Gao.
BART said it reached a mediated pre-litigation settlement with Gao on June 19, and as part of the settlement, the agency agreed to issue a joint statement acknowledging that the report and public statement by the police chief were not accurate.
“BART acknowledges that when Ms. Gao drove away, no officer was being dragged or had any body part stuck in the window of her car when Poblete fired, and that no officer was otherwise endangered by Ms. Gao’s driving of the vehicle,” the statement said. “After completing an administrative investigation of the incident, BART issued a notice of intent to terminate Poblete.”
“The shooting nearly killed [our daughter] and has left her with permanent, life-changing injuries,” said a statement from the Gao family. “The false narrative in the immediate aftermath was repeated widely in the media and caused damaging harm to our daughter’s reputation. It is lingering on the internet, and has been devastating to Jasmine and our family.
“Ms. Gao was shot in the back, and the bullet passed between her heart and a major artery. She nearly died. She was hospitalized and no longer has full mobility in her left arm,” said Gao’s attorney Ben Nisenbaum in a prepared statement. “Ms. Gao and her family recognize the importance of resolving this case expeditiously without filing a lawsuit. The acceptance of accountability by BART and Chief Franklin are significant factors in the settlement.”
“Our priority is public trust. We immediately placed Nicholas Poblete on leave pending an independent investigation,” said BART spokesperson Alicia Trost in a prepared statement. “We engaged Ms. Gao’s attorneys before a lawsuit was filed to work toward an early resolution that brings closure for Ms. Gao and her family while avoiding years of litigation. BART believes resolving this matter promptly is also in the best interest of our riders, employees, and the community.”
Newly released bodycam video shows what led up to BART police shooting at East Bay station
Saturday, December 14, 2024
BART officials released new body camera video Friday of a police shooting that left a woman injured in the parking lot of the Union City station.
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — BART officials released new body camera video Friday of a police shooting that left a woman injured in the parking lot of the Union City station.
The Nov. 18 shooting happened around 9 p.m. after BART police officers stopped a 32-year-old woman following a report about reckless driving.
ORIGINAL STORY: BART police shoot woman outside Union City station, agency says
The footage starts with the officer, identified as Nicholas Poblete, telling the woman they received reports of someone doing donuts in a vehicle that matched the description of hers. The two go back-and-forth a bit, as she explains she doesn’t know how to do donuts and says she is “not that good at driving.” During this time, officers run the license plate of her black sedan and learn that her registration had expired.
After saying goodbye, Poblete walks back to her car to ask questions about the expired vehicle registration.
“My dispatcher informed us that your license is out of registration, I do have to address that,” he said in the bodycam video.
From there, their exchange lasts for about eight minutes, in which officers repeatedly asked her questions about her car insurance, vehicle registration and drivers license and she deflects. BART officials say the woman “displayed erratic behavior” during questioning. As tension escalates, the woman also did not comply with multiple commands to hand over her car keys and exit her car.
Next, the video shows the woman grabbing her license back from the officer. Officer Poblete then reaches inside her car, as the woman screams asking him to stop. He continues to ask her to get out of the vehicle, saying “I am going to pepper spray you.” After more back and forth, she rolls up the window and begins to drive away. That’s when Poblete fired three shots, according to the statement.
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The 32-year-old was wounded in the upper torso from the gunfire that struck her.
“You were dragging us from the car,” one officer says, as another officer retrieved a medical kit. Officials said she was treated in a nearby hospital and later discharged.
Poblete is currently on administrative leave. According to BART, he had worked for its police force for six and a half years and serves in the operations bureau.
In a statement, BART Police Chief Kevin Franklin said a third-party investigator is conducting an internal administrative review of the incident “to avoid any possibility of bias.”
“I want to assure the public that all aspects of this incident will be thoroughly investigated,” Franklin said. “BART remains committed to continuous improvement and ensuring the actions of our police officers meet the highest of standards.”
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Franklin also noted BART released the full, unedited body-worn camera footage from both officers who responded to the stop. Personal information about the woman was edited out in order to comply with “statutorily mandated redactions,” the transit agency said.
According to BART P.D.’s policies, officers should not shoot at a moving vehicle in an attempt to disable it or if there are no other reasonable means to “avert the threat.”
Read the full policy below:
300.4.1 SHOOTING AT OR FROM MOVING VEHICLES Shots fired at or from a moving vehicle are rarely effective. It is also noted that in many circumstances, disabling the driver of a vehicle may increase the potential for harm to bystanders and/or the officer. Officers should move out of the path of an approaching vehicle instead of discharging their firearm at the vehicle or any of its occupants. Officers shall not intentionally and unnecessarily move into the path of an approaching vehicle to create their own exigent circumstance. Officers should not shoot at any part of a moving vehicle in an attempt to disable the vehicle. Officers shall not discharge a firearm at a moving vehicle or its occupants when there are other reasonable means available to avert the threat. Officers shall not discharge a firearm from a moving vehicle when there are other reasonable means available to avert the present threat. Officers may only shoot at a moving vehicle under exigent circumstances, when the driver and/or occupants are targeting others with the intent to cause great bodily injury or death and there are no other reasonable means available to avert the threat.
BART police referred this matter to the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office.
