ST. CLOUD, Fla. — The St. Cloud Police Department is preparing to deploy newly upgraded body worn cameras.

Police Chief Douglas Goerke said the previous body cameras were limited on storage space and the audio wasn’t as clear compared to the latest Axon body cameras, which have reduced motion blur and live stream capabilities.

“It has its own cell modem built into it basically, so it has its own SIM card, like it actually pushes it out just like a cell phone for live streaming and live events,” Goerke said.

Chief Goerke said the biggest asset from the new cameras is the automatic recording.

“If you take out your firearm, you activate your taser, but most importantly, it actually activates with the vehicle as well. So what we’re going to show you here is when you turn on the lights of the car, it will actually activate,” he said.

The new equipment will help create more preparation, Goerke said, in a booming population.

“Create these safe environments. We can actually give them real-world types of incidents and real-world events only to better their skills. Especially for de-escalation,” he said.

Goerke pushed to get $1.4 million in five years from the city to purchase the cameras.

One of the St. Cloud Police Department’s newest recruits, Michael Toscano, who came from the U.S. Capitol Police, said he’s looking forward to the cameras in an era when he feels officers are fighting against anti-police sentiments.

“It benefits the community as well as it benefits the officer,” Toscano said. “The community is able to see how rapid-evolving circumstances play out, and it helps relationships between the community and the police.”

Toscano said he feels this is the agency’s way of making him feel like it has got his back.

“Obviously, it makes you feel like you’re part of a huge family,” he said.