Recipients of RISE and Jack Cover Awards will be honored this week at Axon Accelerate, the premier public safety technology conference
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Axon, the global leader in connected public safety technologies is pleased to share the stories of the recipients of the 2023 Axon RISE Awards, as well as the distinct Jack Cover Save of the Year Award in advance of their award ceremony on Tuesday, April 11. The recipients will be honored at Axon’s premier public safety technology conference, Axon Accelerate, held in Phoenix from April 11-14.
The Axon RISE awards are designed to shine a light on the heroic stories of first responders in public safety who go above and beyond the call of duty to protect their communities. The RISE Awards honor individuals who have saved a life or shown exemplary performance in a high stress situation. The 2023 RISE award recipients are:
- Trooper Toni Shuck, Florida Highway Patrol, who drove her patrol car in front of a drunk driver to stop them from driving into thousands of runners on a bridge during a 10K race.
- Deputy William Puzynski, Orange County Sheriff’s Office (Fla.), who climbed a third-floor balcony to save a baby from an apartment fire.
- Officers Galen Schmidt, Sean Peralta and Devynn Muhlenberg, Reno Police Department (Nev.), who collectively acted quickly and saved two individuals in a medical emergency extracting them safely from their vehicle submerged in a body of water.
Axon is also proud to share that Chief Sean Perry of Penndel Borough Police Department (Pa.) will receive the distinct Jack Cover Save of the Year Award. This award recognizes officers who use a TASER device to save a life through less-lethal force. Chief Perry is being honored for his heroic efforts to successfully and safely de-escalate an incident in which an armed individual was making threats to harm himself.
“We are proud to recognize the brave men and women in public safety who show extraordinary courage, compassion and dedication to their communities,” said Axon CEO and Founder Rick Smith. “RISE Award winners and the Jack Cover recipients demonstrate the awe-inspiring bravery and heroism displayed by so many public safety professionals. Their stories inspire us in our work, and provide shining examples for future generations of first responders.”
The RISE awardees were selected from a pool of 10 finalists, which were identified by community vote. The 2023 award recipients were then selected by a distinguished panel of judges. This year, our RISE award finalists were selected by more than 18,600 votes from community members in a two-week voting period. Each recipient will be attending Axon Accelerate’s 2023 Conference with all expenses paid. They will also receive a cash reward of $1,000, a TASER Pulse energy device, a trophy and an Axon Roadshow celebration at their agency.
The Jack Cover Save of the Year Award was chosen from Axon’s Jack Cover Medal of Heroism recipients by Axon employees as the most impactful story of the year. Chief Perry will attend Axon Accelerate, all expenses paid, and will receive a TASER 7CQ and a distinguished trophy for his heroic actions.
Axon will recognize these recipients and their stories during a special ceremony in front of their peers and leadership at Axon Accelerate. Over the course of the week, public safety professionals will hear from leaders across the industry on the latest cutting-edge technology that has the ability to make historic progress across the industry. Attendees will also be able to build their expertise with hands-on technology experiences, captivating sessions and opportunities to network and share ideas with peers. Learn more about the Axon Accelerate Conference here.
To hear the full stories of our award recipients and learn more about all of Axon’s 2023 RISE Award finalists, please visit: https://www.axon.com/news/2023-rise-awards. A video compilation of the winner’s stories will also be available on Axon’s social media following the awards ceremony.
About Axon
Axon is a technology leader in global public safety. Our moonshot goal is to cut gun-related deaths between police and the public by 50% before 2033. Axon is building the public safety operating system of the future by integrating a suite of hardware devices and cloud software solutions that lead modern policing. Axon’s suite includes TASER energy devices, body-worn cameras, in-car cameras, cloud-hosted digital evidence management solutions, productivity software and real-time operations capabilities. Axon’s growing global customer base includes first responders across international, federal, state and local law enforcement, fire, corrections and emergency medical services, as well as the justice sector, commercial enterprises and consumers.
Third-party trademarks are property of their respective owners.
Axon, Axon Accelerate, Axon Roadshow, TASER, TASER 7, TASER Pulse and the Delta Logo are trademarks of Axon Enterprise, Inc., some of which are registered in the US and other countries. For more information, visit www.axon.com/legal. All rights reserved.