Mayor cites nearly 1,900 firearms seized in 2024, pushes state bills and launches community violence intervention partnership

Mayor (name not specified) told a Montgomery City Council work session that the Montgomery Police Department seized nearly 1,900 firearms in 2024 and urged state lawmakers to pass bills to curb firearm conversion devices and bump stocks.

"On a press conference this morning, police chief, Jim Graboy shared a staggering statistic with us that Montgomery Police Department seized nearly 1,900 firearms in 2024," the mayor said, and he identified proposed legislation — HB 26, SB 31, SB 32 (to ban machine-gun conversion devices) and HB 12 and HB 51 (to ban bump stocks) — as reasonable, public-safety steps he hopes state lawmakers will consider.

The statistic and the proposed state bills were presented as the backdrop for a new local partnership to reduce gun violence. The mayor introduced representatives from Live Free USA, a national organization focused on community-led violence reduction, and said the city is partnering with Live Free USA, Family Guidance Center and Baptist Health to implement a community violence intervention (CVI) strategy.

Dr. Antonio Seriel of Live Free USA said the program is in an early staffing phase. "Right now, we're in stages of hiring and getting ready to train the key staff that's gonna be implementing the strategy," Seriel said. He said interviews began the day of the work session and will continue over the next couple of months.

Reverend Marcus McAllister, who will serve as the lead trainer, described planned training topics, including conflict mediation, de-escalation, engaging high-risk individuals, trauma-informed care, data entry and role play. "We would like to get people that's from the area we're servicing," McAllister said, adding that hiring panels will seek candidates "that are dedicated to the work, that have those relationships, that can understand and lead with empathy."

City staff and Live Free representatives said they hope to launch the program around May and emphasized careful hiring over speed. The mayor also invited the public to a larger community forum to learn more about the CVI strategy.

The mayor announced a swearing-in ceremony for the city's new police chief at City Hall the following morning, scheduled for 10 a.m. He said the role of police chief includes building relationships and fostering trust across the city.

No formal city council vote on the CVI partnership or the mayor's requests for state legislative advocacy was recorded in the meeting transcript.