Birthday gifts donated to Christian Pierson

Five-year-old Christian Pierson's birthday was different for many reasons. It was the first birthday he spent without his father and the first he felt love and generosity from hundreds he's never met.

Local and regional police officers collected birthday gifts Friday from the community for Christian, the son of Rochester police Officer Daryl Pierson, who was killed on duty earlier this month. The group collected more than 100 gifts, ranging from Legos to candy, and surprised the energetic 5-year-old at his home with carloads of presents.

"Thank you! Thank you!" Christian yelled as he made his way through the small crowd of police officers leading to a maze of gifts that filled his living room.

Officer Pierson, 32, is also survived by his wife, Amy Pierson, and nearly 5-month-old daughter Charity. Christian's birthday was Friday; his dad would have turned 33 the next day.

"It's been a very special day for (Christian)," Amy said. "Nobody will ever be Daryl or his father, but being surrounded by all of this love and support makes a big difference for him."

Amy said she has been overwhelmed and thankful for the ongoing support her family has received.

"I knew the guys were going to come by with some gifts, but I never knew it would be of this magnitude," she said. "It's just another example of the love and generosity that people have been showing us."

Irondequoit police Sgt. Jim Reed and Rochester police Officer Ebony Archetko were among the officers who delivered the gifts.

"The whole family is our family," Archetko said.

Archetko and Reed agreed that supporting families during tough times is all a part of the bond all law enforcement officers share whether they knew the family or not.

"We wanted to take (Christian's) mind off of whatever else might be going on," Reed said. "(We wanted to) make this a happy day for him."

DDAVIS11@DemocratandChronicle.com

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