Florida police department launches drone-as-first-responder program

St Cloud Police Department has become central Florida’s first agency to field a full drone-as-first-responder (DFR) program, marking a significant operational shift toward rapid, remotely piloted airborne support for law enforcement and fire rescue teams. While the Department has flown uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) for more than a decade, the new system removes the need for on-scene manual deployment, enabling aircraft to launch within seconds.

“I think the most important thing in public safety is to obviously bridge that gap and close the time it takes for us to respond to a critical incident,” Police Chief Douglas Goerke said.

Two autonomous docking stations house the Skydio X10 aircraft, with two additional docks planned to expand coverage. Supported by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) waivers, the drones can be virtually piloted from the Department’s Real Time Intelligence Center.

Flying at roughly 200ft and up to 40mph, the drones provide immediate situational awareness for in-progress calls – whether confirming threats, tracking movement, or supporting fire crews with thermal imagery. “There’s nothing worse in a critical incident than a law enforcement officer getting to a scene and trying to assess everything in a split second,” Goerke added.

All mission footage is retained as evidence, and an online dashboard lets local residents view a map of DFR-supported calls. The five-year investment – projected at US$890,000 – positions St Cloud as a leading adopter of remotely deployed airborne intelligence for public safety.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) recently unveiled a new roadmap for BVLOS drone operations.