Orlando City Council on Monday will vote on whether to amend the city’s existing contract with defense manufacturing company Axon to allow the police department to purchase 11 new drones from the company as part of an effort to respond to 911 calls more quickly.
The drone program, building on a pilot program of the Orlando Police Department, would cost the city $6.83 million over the next eight years, or $759,322 annually, according to city documents. The initial term of the city’s contract with Axon would be four years, with an option to renew it for another five years after that.
According to a city memo, Axon’s Skydio drones would be used as part of a “Drone as First Responder” program within the Orlando Police Department, specifically its crime center. The drones would be dispatched by a federally licensed, sworn police officer pilot in response to 911 calls that are believed to be life-threatening, involve major property damage, or be otherwise time-sensitive, according to Bungalower…