Officer Lee Lawshe of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) received the 2014 Law Enforcement Officer of the Year award among other prestigious awards he received this year.

"Lawshe stands out among the FWC's 853 officers in the field and has proved to be an exemplary officer and an asset to the state's citizens and natural resources," said Col. Calvin Adams, director of the FWC's Division of Law Enforcement, explaining why Lawshe was the FWC's Officer of the Year and why he was recently selected to receive the Florida Wildlife Federation's Wildlife Officer of the Year award and the State Law Enforcement Chiefs Association's SLECA Officer of the Yearaward.

Today, the Shikar-Safari Club International named Lawshe its 2013 Wildlife Officer of the Year during the FWC Commission meeting at the Florida Public Safety Institute near Tallahassee.

"In 2013, his notable activities included rescuing a man missing for days in a swamp, apprehending a suspect during a manhunt, and catching people illegally harvesting redfish, trespassing and harming gopher tortoises," Adams said. "He represents the best of what an FWC officer should be."

Supervisors describe Lawshe, who works in St. Johns County, as a team player within the FWC and with its partner law enforcement agencies, taking what he calls a "helping hand" approach to his work, whether that is mentoring, doing outreach, joining manhunts or rescuing people.

He joined the FWC in 2008, coming to the agency from a family of outdoorsmen, from Airborne Ranger School and with awards for his tour in the Middle East in a Quick Reaction Force.

Shikar-Safari Club International is a conservation-based organization that presents awards annually to wildlife law enforcement officers in all states, provinces and territories in the United States and Canada. The annual award honors a state officer whose efforts show outstanding performance and achievement among sworn fish and wildlife law enforcement personnel.

Media contact: Susan Smith, 850-488-8843