A gun-toting ex-con who led a brazen high-speed chase through San Francisco before nearly killing a cop in a shootout allegedly told police it was a good thing he dropped his “sticks” — otherwise he may have taken down more officers in a gunfight, according to new court documents obtained by The Post.
Norris Reed, 36, had been out of prison for just six months after serving more than 14 years for kidnapping and grand theft involving a firearm when he allegedly opened fire and injured San Francisco police Officer Brittney Taylor during a wild Sunday night chase and shootout.
The parolee was found cowering in a homeless shelter with a Glock .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol and a P80 “ghost gun” on his person, prosecutors say.
Taylor remains hospitalized after being struck multiple times in the Bayview District gun battle, which prosecutors said began when police tracked a Toyota believed to have been used in a Hayward armed robbery.
Reed was charged Wednesday with two counts of attempted murder and numerous other felonies, including assault with a semiautomatic firearm, felony evasion and multiple gun charges. His arraignment was postponed Wednesday to July 2.
On Wednesday, Mayor Daniel Lurie delivered a stern message to criminals looking to prey upon San Francisco.
“We will find you, and we will prosecute you,” Lurie wrote on X.
“On behalf of San Francisco, we are wishing Officer Brittney Taylor a full and speedy recovery. Our officers have our backs, and as mayor, I have theirs.”
Prosecutors say San Francisco police were alerted around 10:30 p.m. Sunday to a gray Toyota linked to an armed robbery and carrying “armed and dangerous” individuals.
When officers tried to stop the vehicle near Mission and First streets, the driver — later identified as 22-year-old Brandon Reed — allegedly sped away, triggering a high-speed chase through SoMa and Potrero Hill.
According to court records, Reed reached speeds of up to 60 mph before crashing the Toyota into a concrete barrier.
As Taylor and another officer approached the wreck and ordered the occupants out at gunpoint, Reed allegedly opened the driver’s-side door and fired multiple rounds, striking Taylor in the leg before fleeing on foot.
Police launched a manhunt and later found Reed hiding at a homeles shelter, where prosecutors say surveillance footage captured him entering and telling someone, “Don’t call the police.”
Prosecutors say Reed later remarked it was a “good thing” he had dropped his “sticks” — slang for the Glock .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol and a P80 “ghost gun” he was carrying — of the conflict could have escalated further.
Once inside, Reed allegedly removed his gloves and told someone off camera, “Don’t call the police.”
The case has raised immediate questions about how Reed — who had been released to parole supervision on Dec. 10, 2025 — may have obtained that level of firepower so soon after leaving prison.
In 2011, Reed was armed and kidnapped a woman as she was heading to work at the Sunvalley Mall in Concord, according to an SFGate report. He served more than 14 years behind bars.
State corrections officials did not respond to The Post’s request for comment on why Reed was released in December after being denied parole in a January 2025 hearing.
The community has rallied around Taylor and her family, as a Meal Train fundraiser raising more than $112,000 from more than 900 donors as of Thursday — blowing past its original $10,000 goal.
On Wednesday, Mayor Daniel Lurie delivered a stern message to criminals looking to prey upon San Francisco.
“We will find you, and we will prosecute you,” Lurie wrote on X.
“On behalf of San Francisco, we are wishing Officer Brittney Taylor a full and speedy recovery. Our officers have our backs, and as mayor, I have theirs.”
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