PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) troopers are getting body cameras that can capture what their cruisers’ cameras cannot: encounters that move away from the vehicle.

“You could hear what was going on. You just couldn’t see what was going on,” said William Smith, president of the FHP chapter of the Florida Police Benevolent Association.

Motorcycle troopers, including Smith, already use body cameras. The broader rollout will equip troopers working in patrol cars, which have relied on vehicle-mounted cameras and separate microphones to document encounters.

Installation in the Lake Worth area is scheduled to begin in October, Smith said. Troop L serves Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, Okeechobee and Broward counties.

The expansion came through an equipment replacement, rather than a new legislative requirement.

Smith said FHP’s existing camera lease was ending, prompting the agency to seek a replacement system. Motorola Solutions’ body camera provided the audio capability the agency needed.

“It just so happens the Motorola system came with a body camera. It’s not something they were seeking,” Smith said.

A bill that would have required FHP body cameras failed earlier this year. Senate Bill 616, sponsored by Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, would have required cameras during specified duties and provided $2 million for equipment, training and storage. It died in the Senate Transportation Committee on March 13. The proposed funding does not establish the cost of the current rollout.

The additional camera view comes as troopers’ assignments extend beyond highway enforcement. In July, cellphone video captured FHP assisting federal immigration agents during an operation outside a Lake Worth Beach bakery.

For Rick Morris, a former West Palm Beach police deputy chief who now directs the Criminal Justice Institute at Palm Beach State College, the recordings offer a valuable tool for investigating what happened.

“The evidentiary value of a body camera is tremendous,” Morris said. “You know, you catch real time evidence statements, real time actions.”

Morris said footage was especially useful when reviewing police shootings, allowing investigators to examine actions taken within seconds. He cautioned that a camera’s angle can limit what it captures.

Smith said the recordings also benefit troopers facing disputed accounts of an encounter.

“It also helps protect the officer against complaints that are not true,” he said.

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The rollout is underway while the recording policy is being updated. Smith said existing body camera rules were tailored to motorcycle units, and the union is reviewing proposed changes for broader use.

“The policy should have been done before the implementation,” Smith said.

The union plans to return its recommendations to FHP by Oct. 8, Smith said. The agency would then determine how to proceed with the changes.