Associated Press - The Durango Herald

Shipping firms are being whipsawed by changing stances and risks as they wait for Hormuz to reopen

NEW YORK (AP) — With hundreds of vessels still stuck in the Persian Gulf and costs piling up, shipping companies are being whipsawed by uncertainty over how and when the Strait of Hormuz mig...

DATE: May 6, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

Some iPhone owners could get up to $95 payment after Apple agrees to settle case for $250 million

LONDON (AP) — Owners of some iPhones are in line to get cash payments of up to $95 from Apple after the company on Tuesday reached a $250 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit for fal...

DATE: May 6, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

Lower-income Americans hit hardest by gas price spike, widening inequalities, study finds

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lower-income Americans sharply reduced their gas consumption in the month following the Iran war, yet spiking prices still forced them to spend more at the pump, worsening ...

DATE: May 6, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

Lindsey Vonn nominated to US ski team for next season as she faces long recovery from Olympic crash

It's easy to read something into this: Lindsey Vonn was among the 48 athletes nominated Wednesday to the U.S. Alpine ski team for the upcoming season. For the moment, that's just a formality...

DATE: May 6, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

Trump’s Indiana victories send a warning to Republican dissenters

Five months ago, President Donald Trump was stinging from one of the first political defeats of his second term as Republican state senators defied him on redistricting in Indiana. Now he ha...

DATE: May 6, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

Russia snubs Ukraine’s unilateral ceasefire and fires dozens of drones

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia fired dozens of drones at Ukraine in nighttime attacks, Ukrainian officials said Wednesday, disregarding a unilateral ceasefire announced by Kyiv that began at mi...

DATE: May 6, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

The Latest: WHO zeros in on cruise ship hantavirus cluster as passengers still stuck on board

PRAIA, Cape Verde (AP) — Three cruise ship passengers with suspected hantavirus infections were being flown to the Netherlands for treatment Wednesday. Three people have died, and the World ...

DATE: May 6, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

CNN founder Ted Turner, a brash and outspoken television pioneer, dies at age 87

NEW YORK (AP) — Ted Turner, a brash television pioneer who raced yachts, owned huge chunks of the American West and transformed the news business by launching CNN and introducing the 24-hour...

DATE: May 6, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

ADL reports a sharp drop in US antisemitic incidents in 2025, driven by a steep fall on campuses

NEW YORK (AP) — The number of antisemitic incidents in the United States tallied by the Anti-Defamation League declined sharply in 2025 — the first drop in five years — due in part to what t...

DATE: May 6, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

Georgia officials knew chemicals from carpet mills were polluting local water. The people did not

CALHOUN, Ga. (AP) — Growing up in northwest Georgia, Stormy Bost lived her life in the water. During summers she plucked crawdads from the neighborhood creek and played in its cool depths, r...

DATE: May 6, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

Local elections could hasten the exit of Britain's embattled prime minister

LONDON (AP) — British voters will cast ballots Thursday in elections that could hasten the end of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s troubled term and confirm that an increasingly fractured Unite...

DATE: May 6, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

Indigenous people honor and raise awareness for relatives who are missing or have been killed

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Across the country, Indigenous people are gathering this week to honor loved ones who are missing or have been killed and to call for better data collection, law enf...

DATE: May 6, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

Photos: Iron Horse Bicycle Classic mountain bike racesPlenty of spectators packed Steamworks Brewing Company on Sunday

Plenty of spectators packed Steamworks Brewing Company on Sunday

Photos: Iron Horse Bicycle Classic pro road racesCyclists had beautiful day to ride into Silverton on Saturday

Cyclists had beautiful day to ride into Silverton on Saturday

Photos: Durango High School graduation ceremony

Photos: Durango Big Picture High School graduates receive diplomas

Durango police chief says technology name of game in modern policingAI bodycams, first responder drones and more in store for DPD

Artificial intelligence, drone first responders and body cameras that can translate 50 languages aren’t far-flung concepts of some opaque Hollywood future anymore. Even in Durango, they are becoming staples of modern policing.Durango Police Department is embracing technological advancements in what Police Chief Brice Current described to city councilors earlier this year as a “cautious” yet “progressive” approach.Since at least April, Current has stressed how DPD’s top priority with new technology is reinforcing public safety. Since at least April, Current has attended various community meetings about new technology the police department is adopting, where he’s stressed how DPD’s top priority with new technology is to reinforce public safety. He has also addressed residents’ concerns about how powerful some new technologies, including Flock Safety and other automated license plate reader cameras, have become – an ongoing conversation between DPD, the city and advocates for tighter automated license plate reader regulations in Durango.At a Kiwanis Club of Durango meeting last month, for example, Current addressed Flock cameras and drones, and also the importance of trust and accountability for law enforcement.“It is healthy for the public – if we’re going to be one Durango and we’re going to work together – to question government. I question government,” he said.

Current said accountability for officers and third-party technology services is necessary, and that requires education and transparency.Evoking laughter, Current showed a video clip of a drone launching a net at a person.“It requires no training, no policy, and there’s no way we’re ever going to use this,” he said. “There’s lots of other technology out there that is really cool, but just doesn’t fit in Durango right now.”Grappler systems that cast nets to trap a car’s tires are no longer gadgets used only by Batman in films and comic books. Current said Castle Rock uses just such a system. But they aren’t a good fit for Durango.“Those are great tools, don’t get me wrong, but there’s some – like facial recognition, some other things – that just aren’t going to fit in this community and shouldn’t fit here for a long time,” he said.New technologies at DPDDraft One AI Reporting by Axon is an audio transcription service that can identify multiple people in a body camera recording and produce a police report based on what is captured.Current said he held off on trying a demo of Draft One for a long time, because although DPD has used transcription services for years, he didn’t feel comfortable bringing an AI-generated police report to court.But AI transcription technology has come a long way, he said.“This system can take five different people or more at a time and assign who they are and transcribe what they’re saying in the report,” he said.Another benefit, he said, is it trains officers to speak into their body cameras more regularly to record what they are thinking and observing. That helps the veracity of officers’ testimony in court.“When you’re pulling a vehicle over, you used to say in court, ‘(The suspect is) reaching under the seat. I saw him doing some stuff that made me feel nervous.’ And the jury’s like, ‘Hmm, you’re saying that now because you found 2 pounds of dope in his car. But is that really what you’re thinking?’” Current said.Now, officers speak directly into their body cameras to capture not just what the body camera sees but what they are thinking and how they are processing a situation as it unfolds.“‘I’m feeling pretty nervous right now. He keeps reaching under his car (seat).’ They’re talking to their camera. ‘He’s waited two blocks to turn to pull over. That’s odd,’ ... It’s teaching the officer to talk more about what they’re feeling in the reports,” he said.DPD is using Draft One transcripts in misdemeanor cases, although it hasn’t begun using them in felony cases, Current said. But he is confident it will start using them in felony cases soon.The police department’s body cameras are now able to livestream video to the police station and 911 dispatchers at the Durango Emergency Communications Center, allowing first responder agencies to monitor situations in real time.Current said DPD is looking into getting language translation capabilities in 50 different languages for body cameras, but that feature comes with a higher price tag and the police department is waiting on grant funding to make a move.DPD is also implementing AI software into its internal systems to quickly search statutes to determine what charges might best match a situation, to flag internal affairs reviews if officer misconduct is detected in video footage, and more.

By now, residents may have noticed one or both of the drone first responders DPD deployed this year to survey incidents faster than officers can reasonably be expected to arrive on scene.Police used a drone last month to locate a missing boy near the Animas River. The drone deployed from Durango Fire Protection District Station No. 1 downtown and arrived in the general area the boy was last seen – behind the Durango Mall – in just a few minutes.Police also deployed a drone last week to the scene of a fatal shooting near Durango Skate Park.Within two minutes of the shooting, police launched a drone and got an aerial view of the scene “within seconds” of it being launched, according to a DPD news release.A second drone was launched a minute later.“The Durango Police Department’s Drone as First Responder system arrived above the scene before officers,” the release said. “The drone operator was able to see that there was no further gunfire taking place as officers approached the area. This technology provided officers with real-time information and helped them arrive with a stronger understanding of what was happening on scene.”The two drones operate on about a 2-mile radius with flight times of about 40 minutes.

‘We’ve learned to vet them’DPD and the city began to face harsher scrutiny from residents last year after members of DeFlock Durango performed records requests for Flock audits that revealed vehicle and license plate data was appearing in searches by law enforcement agencies across the country that have 287(g) cooperation agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.Flock Safety has faced pushback from communities around the country for what some opponents of ALPRs call a mass surveillance system of Orwellian proportions. Critics have bashed Flock for providing data to federal law enforcement, for questionable privacy policies when it comes to captured data and for a lack of oversight on how police departments use data.

Current has repeatedly insisted Flock cameras do not constitute “mass surveillance,” although he has acknowledged privacy and abuse of power concerns.He said things are changing for the better with Flock after it faced backlash for working with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.He said DPD has always dealt with third-party technology services, and over time it’s leaned to vet companies it partners with.When legislation required police to start wearing bodycams, police had issues with camera companies not storing data as required by law.“Do we trust these groups? Well, we've learned to vet them,” he said.cburney@durangoherald.com

AI bodycams, first responder drones and more in store for DPD

Photos: Fort Lewis College commencement ceremony

Photos: Ron Keller Invitational track meetDemons win home meet against local schools on Saturday

Demons win home meet against local schools on Saturday

Photos: Ben Nighthorse Campbell memorial

Photos/video: Scrambling for eggs

Shipping firms are being whipsawed by changing stances and risks as they wait for Hormuz to reopen

Some iPhone owners could get up to $95 payment after Apple agrees to settle case for $250 million

Lower-income Americans hit hardest by gas price spike, widening inequalities, study finds

Lindsey Vonn nominated to US ski team for next season as she faces long recovery from Olympic crash

Trump’s Indiana victories send a warning to Republican dissenters

Russia snubs Ukraine’s unilateral ceasefire and fires dozens of drones

The Latest: WHO zeros in on cruise ship hantavirus cluster as passengers still stuck on board

CNN founder Ted Turner, a brash and outspoken television pioneer, dies at age 87

ADL reports a sharp drop in US antisemitic incidents in 2025, driven by a steep fall on campuses

Georgia officials knew chemicals from carpet mills were polluting local water. The people did not

Local elections could hasten the exit of Britain's embattled prime minister

Indigenous people honor and raise awareness for relatives who are missing or have been killed

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