Police Chief Derrick Lew speaks to the press about a shooting on Sunday night that left one officer and a robbery suspect with life-threatening injuries, at SFPD headquarters in San Francisco on Monday, June 1, 2026.
Manuel Orbegozo/For the S.F. Chronicle
San Francisco Police Ofc. Brittney Taylor, who was gravely wounded during a shootout with a robbery suspect.
San Francisco Police Department
The 36-year-old man charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting a San Francisco police officer had been out on parole for less than six months at the time of the Sunday night shootout in the Bayview, according to officials and court records.
Norris Reed III was released on parole in December after serving a 19-year sentence for a 2011 armed kidnapping in the East Bay, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
In that case, Reed approached a 23-year-old woman on her way to work in the parking lot of Sunvalley Mall in Concord at gunpoint and forced her back to her car, the Chronicle reported at the time.
Article continues below this ad
Reed then picked up a second man, who robbed the woman of her money and belongings, and then forced her to withdraw money from an ATM in Oakland. Reed and his accomplice reportedly held up another victim at gunpoint near the West Oakland BART station the same night.
Reed was eligible for credit-earning opportunities while incarcerated and served his full sentence under the law before his release, state prison officials said.
San Francisco Chronicle Logo
Make us a Preferred Source to get more of our news when you search.
Add Preferred Source
Reed is now facing two counts of attempted murder and multiple other felony charges in connection with the Sunday night shooting, according to the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office.
The incident began around 10:30 p.m. Sunday when a FLOCK camera on the Bay Bridge picked up a 2021 Gray Toyota that was allegedly involved in the armed robbery of a delivery truck in Hayward three days prior, according to authorities.
Article continues below this ad
The two occupants were believed to be “armed and dangerous,” officials said.
Officer Brittney Taylor and her partner, Officer Dexter Cato, spotted the Toyota near Fifth and Folsom streets and attempted to stop it near Mission and First streets, according to court records. Taylor and Cato got out of their patrol car and told Reed, the driver, to stop, roll down the window and drop his keys outside the car, court documents show.
Reed allegedly refused and fled northbound on Fremont Street going around 40 mph, with Taylor and two other police cars in pursuit with lights and sirens activated, prosecutors said. The Toyota reached 60 mph as Reed fled south through city streets until crashing with a concrete barrier at the Bayshore Boulevard on-ramp to Highway 101.
Taylor and Cato stopped at the scene of the crash and, with guns drawn, ordered Reed and his passenger to exit their vehicle. The passenger immediately tried to surrender, according to court records, but Reed opened the driver’s side door and fired multiple rounds “in quick succession” at both police officers, striking Taylor in the leg. Cato saw his partner collapse on the ground and ran to help her, records show.
Multiple officers returned fire, although police have declined to say how many officers fired their weapons and how many shots were fired in the exchange.
Article continues below this ad
In a “fusillade of gunfire between Reed and the Officers,” the passenger in Reed’s car was shot in the neck, according to court records. Officers saw the passenger holding his neck with his left hand and ordered the person to “crawl towards them,” the records say.
He was in critical but stable condition as of Monday morning, and has not been charged. In a statement Wednesday, the district attorney’s office said while police had probable cause to arrest him, prosecutors have asked investigators to collect more evidence before they consider if criminal charges are appropriate.
As police rushed to get Taylor and the wounded passenger to the hospital, Reed allegedly fled on foot toward a gas station near Bayshore Boulevard and Jerrold Avenue. Officers later found him hiding near the Bayshore Navigation Center, a transitional housing site for homeless residents, according to court records.
Surveillance footage showed an unknown person letting Reed inside the gate of the building, prosecutors alleged in court records. Reed allegedly told a person, “don’t call the police,” and asked officers who found him at the housing site whether they had found his “sticks,” a slang term for guns or firearm magazines.
According to the detention motion filed by prosecutors, Reed told officers “it was a good thing he dropped [the sticks] because he would have been involved in a gun fight if he had them with him.”
Article continues below this ad
Police recovered a Glock .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol and a P80 ghost gun, prosecutors said, as well as two extended magazines in the Toyota.
Reed cannot lawfully possess a firearm due to his prior felony convictions, prosecutors said.
Taylor suffered life-altering injuries that have required multiple surgeries, according to court records. On Tuesday, she was “alert and in a lot of pain,” said Sam Singer, a spokesman for the Police Officers Association.
“It’s going to be a long recovery for her but she’s going to pull through,” said Louis Wong, Police Officers Association president, who came to the Hall of Justice on Wednesday afternoon to show support for Taylor at Reed’s scheduled arraignment.
Supporters have donated more than $100,000 to a fundraiser organized for Taylor and her family. A photo on the fundraising page showed Taylor posing at a Giants game with her partner and their baby.
Article continues below this ad
Hired in 2018 at SFPD, Taylor worked the overnight shift at the Southern Station and had been recognized several times by the department for being a hardworking, popular officer.
Shackled and wearing a red sweatshirt, Reed appeared in court Wednesday afternoon before Judge Matthew Kahn, who granted a motion from prosecutors to hold Reed in jail without bail until his next court appearance.
His arraignment was rescheduled for early July.
Max Breecker, a deputy public defender assigned to the case, told the judge Reed has some injuries that may require medical attention while in custody. After the hearing, Breecker declined to discuss details of the allegations against his client.
“I think it’s important, as always, but especially in a case like this, to remember that he is presumed innocent,” he told reporters outside the courtroom.