SFPD Officer Brittany Taylor Leaves Hospital, Vows to Return to Duty After Shooting ● UPDATING

Brittany Taylor, the San Francisco police officer who was shot and critically wounded by a robbery suspect on the night of May 31 following a chase into the Bayview neighborhood, has been released from the hospital. Taylor was discharged Thursday afternoon and was met outside San Francisco General Hospital by a phalanx of first responders cheering her on.

Among those present were a group of fellow female police officers who had been visiting her regularly, as well as Mayor Daniel Lurie.

In her first public comments since the shooting, Taylor reflected on her ordeal, saying, "I almost lost my life. It's the little things you take for granted.

Holy crap, you get to sit back and look at the big picture." A San Francisco native, Taylor also spoke about what it means to her to be a police officer. "I love the city," she said.

"I don't like it when people come to my city and destroy it or hurt the citizens here. That takes a toll on me.

I'm going to do something about it."

Taylor added, "It's my job. I was doing my job that night.

I'm glad to be put in that position of being a hero." The suspect, 36-year-old Norris Reed III, allegedly turned his gun on officers who were surrounding him after his vehicle became disabled during a chase that led officers through the SoMa neighborhood and then out to the Bayview. Reed and a second suspect had just driven over the Bay Bridge from Oakland, and a Flock license-plate-reading camera alerted the SFPD because the vehicle was either stolen or had been involved in an earlier robbery.

The passenger in Reed's car, Ariunsanaa Dolgorsuren, was also critically wounded in the shootout, and their current condition has not been publicized. Taylor sustained an injury to her upper leg that other officers quickly determined was critical.

Rather than wait for an ambulance, they transported her to SF General in a squad car, a decision doctors credit with helping to save her life.

In an interview with KTVU, Taylor said, "I knew what could happen. It is difficult to think about it.

You replay it, and it absolutely causes me to lose sleep." Taylor says she is eager to return to duty, adding, "You gotta let me put my uniform back on and get back out there." However, she acknowledged, "Honestly, no. I got to slow it down.

I have time now."