A woman who was pulled over by BART police last November and accused of doing donuts in a station parking lot, and who then tried to drive away from officers, ended up shot three times, and now she is getting a significant legal settlement. Also BART now says that the initial report about the incident was not accurate.

32-year-old Jasmine Gao became the victim of an officer-involved shooting 0n November 19, 2024 in the parking lot of Union City Station, and the earliest reports about the incident were confusing.

BART said that Gao had assaulted a BART police officer, but a subsequent release of bodyworn camera footage from the incident showed that no assault occurred. A BART police officer, Nicholas Poblete, claimed that he was dragged by Gao's vehicle when she attempted to drive away.

In the video, which is available on YouTube, Gao can be seen alone in her vehicle nervously answering questions from the officers. She tells them she is a "new driver" and she doesn't know how to do donuts — she suggests that "some other guys" were in the parking lot doing donuts, but she was only sitting there parked while on the phone.

The officers ask about her out-of-state driver's license and an expired registration on her car. She's seen rifling around looking for her registration and proof of insurance, saying she had just paid for it that day at the DMV. After saying she was scared, an officer asks why, and she says, "Because you're cops!" And at one point, she can be seen snatching her ID back from the hand of an officer, and saying she didn't want them to have it.

After this, a scuffle ensues as both officers reach into the vehicle and try to take the ID back, open the car door, and subdue Gao, who is yelling, "Stop!" and "You're scaring me!" The officers demand that she get out of the vehicle and she screams, "Why?"

One officer, possibly Poblete, can be heard saying, "I'm going to sh--", just before a shot is fired and Gao drives forward about 50 feet in the parking lot. (Or Gao stepped on the gas just before the shot was fired. It's unclear from the footage.) She was shot in the back three times, and her family says this has left her with mobility problems in her left arm.

As the Chronicle reports, Gao has received a $6.75 million settlement from BART.

In a statement, BART spokesperson Alicia Trost says, "Our priority is public trust. BART believes resolving this matter promptly is also in the best interest of our riders, employees, and the community."

The agency also acknowledged in a statement, "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,” BART said in a statement.

Gao's parents put out a statement saying that BART's false narrative about the incident had damaged their daughter's reputation.

The family statement added, "While the trauma and the permanent injuries our daughter suffered cannot be reversed, this acknowledgment matters. We wish that our daughter’s tragedy will help bring an end to police brutality, advance broader public reform and remind officials of their responsibility to be truthful and accountable."