Mother who lost her son urges Piedmont to offer free firearm storage; police chief says department can accommodate

At a Dec. 1 council meeting, Leslie, founder of Pierce’s Pledge, recounted the 2021 killing of her 9‑year‑old son, Pierce, during a custody exchange and urged the council and police to create accessible, voluntary firearm‑storage options when family situations present risk. Leslie told the council that, based on group research and partnerships, a child is killed in a custody context on average every six days in the U.S. and that most domestic‑family shootings involve firearms from the home.

Leslie described Pierce’s Pledge’s work to partner with family‑law professionals, mediators and courts to ask clients to store firearms off‑site during contentious proceedings. "Gun violence is the leading cause of death of children in America," she said, and urged practical steps—storage and screening in family‑court settings—to reduce risk.

Cody Doherty, a volunteer and Pierce’s Pledge collaborator, described building a national firearms‑storage map by contacting federal firearms licensees (FFLs). She said the group has called tens of thousands of type‑1 FFLs, identified roughly 1,750 nationwide that will provide storage and noted that in California the group counted about 1,365 FFLs with only ~115 saying yes to storage; she said average storage fees in California were about $43 per gun per month based on her outreach.

Police Chief Frederick Chavis said Piedmont PD already accepts surrendered firearms and, with policy work and evidence‑unit procedures in place, "we can and will be in a position to do this should the council move forward." He told council members the department would need written policies, evidence‑unit storage protocols and city‑attorney and city‑administrator review before any formal program. Chief Chavis also said Pierce’s Pledge leaders will present to Alameda County police chiefs the following Thursday to seek broader county participation.

Council members asked about staffing, liability and funding; staff and the chief said they would return with policy options and logistical details for council consideration. No formal city program or budget appropriation was approved at the meeting; the item was presented for discussion and potential future action.