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The Orlando Police Department launched its Drone as a First Responder program in late June, deploying 11 (American-made) Skydio X10 drones from nine automated rooftop docking stations across the city to respond to high-priority 911 calls before ground units arrive. OPD hasn’t publicly released the specific docking station locations. The department said they are “strategically located” to provide coverage across the city, covering a corridor from downtown Orlando to Lake Nona across nine sites, but no coverage map has been published.
The program, approved by Orlando City Council in February at $6.83 million over eight years (that’s about $759,000 a year), is integrated into OPD’s existing Crime Center and run by FAA-certified sworn officers. When a qualifying call comes in, the nearest drone launches automatically from its docking station, flies directly to GPS coordinates, and begins streaming live video to the Crime Center and responding officers. The target response time is meant to be under three minutes.
“After receiving a 911 call where information is limited, or there is a threat to the public, OPD can now quickly deploy drones to a scene where they can transmit video to the department’s crime center,” Mayor Buddy Dyer said. “That live video allows OPD to inform officers of what to expect when arriving on a scene, help improve de-escalation efforts and determine any dangers to those in the area.”
According to the City of Orlando, during a seven-week trial using a single drone docked at OPD headquarters, the drone beat officers to the scene on 33% of calls and provided useful information in 97% of deployments. Since October, the program has been deployed more than 900 times, helping locate 90 vehicles and more than 150 suspects and beating officers to the scene 43% of the time.
The drones are equipped with thermal imaging and can zoom in on license plates and into vehicles. They do not have facial recognition, license plate reader, or cell phone interception capabilities. Footage is governed by Florida’s Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act, which requires a warrant for drone surveillance in most circumstances.
“When a 911 call comes in, officers are often making high-stakes decisions with limited information,” said Police Chief Eric Smith. “This program gives us the ability to get eyes on a scene in seconds, helping officers arrive safer, make better-informed decisions, and quickly locate violent suspects who pose a threat to our community.”
Privacy advocates have raised concerns about the program. The ACLU has called for clear policies limiting when drones can fly, transparency requirements around recorded footage, and prohibitions on using drones for crowd control or monitoring protests. The organization has also flagged concerns that drone programs could be used to surveil immigrants or people seeking abortion care. OPD has said the drones are only dispatched to active 911 calls and are not used for random patrols or mass surveillance.
The drones are made by Axon (Website), the same company that supplies OPD’s body cameras, in-car cameras, and Tasers, allowing all footage to flow through one platform. Axon’s AI ethics board resigned en masse in 2022 over the company’s plan to develop a Taser-armed drone for schools following the Uvalde shooting. The company later shelved the project.
