Case Study: Montgomery County Emergency Services builds empathy and boosts officer confidence with Axon VR

Montgomery County Emergency Services - Customer Case Study

Montgomery County Emergency Services faced the limits of traditional role‑play for crisis intervention — officers reported a persistent “fear factor” and difficulty understanding what people in mental‑health crises actually experience. To build empathy and improve de‑escalation skills, MCES partnered with Axon and adopted the Axon VR training platform, using VR headsets to immerse officers in realistic, perspective‑taking scenarios.

Axon delivered immersive VR scenarios that let trainees experience crises from the viewpoint of the person in distress (including autism overstimulation simulations), and MCES helped shape the program’s development. The result: 99% of officers reported increased confidence handling mental‑health calls after Axon VR training, stronger empathy and changed perceptions in the field, and ongoing adoption and positive feedback from officers and chiefs.

Montgomery County Emergency Services

Vic Machese

Negotiator