Letters to the Editor - The Durango Herald

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Horses downtown are happy, healthy

I was surprised by the letter from Barbara Kilpper that expressed her opinion about horses in town (Herald, May 18). The information she stated about horses in Manhattan is incorrect. The ho...

DATE: May 22, 2014 | CATEGORY: Letters to the Editor

Retirement party spending was outrageous

In this age of budget shortfalls, it seems outrageous to me that the city of Durango would spend $17,000 for one event: the retirement party for a longtime (and very appreciated) employee. T...

DATE: May 21, 2014 | CATEGORY: Letters to the Editor

Precise language would have helped editorial

I enjoyed reading the May 12 Herald editorial about public lands. It says, “After speeches and getting themselves worked up, a bunch of opponents of the closure then road ATVs through the ca...

DATE: May 21, 2014 | CATEGORY: Letters to the Editor

Move commercial put-in from 29th Street

A group of us met with City Councilor Dean Brookie recently to express our concerns about the plans to further develop the 29th Street boat put-in. This put-in is in a residential area. We h...

DATE: May 21, 2014 | CATEGORY: Letters to the Editor

Koch brothers set sights on solar panels

As we gather our thoughts about solar energy and the makeup of our LPEA board, it might be helpful to look at what the big players are doing. The Koch brothers and their partners ...

DATE: May 20, 2014 | CATEGORY: Letters to the Editor

Veterans deserve better than VA

I am a disabled Vietnam veteran who has dealt with the VA for 45 years since my medical discharge in June 1968, and it has always been adversarial and unpleasant. In my case, cop...

DATE: May 20, 2014 | CATEGORY: Letters to the Editor

Animas High graduating class exceptional

With graduation just around the corner, I want to take a moment to recognize the 2014 Animas High school graduating class. Durango should be proud to know that we are sending such well-educa...

DATE: May 19, 2014 | CATEGORY: Letters to the Editor

Durango Herald joins sky-is-falling crowd

The Herald’s May 7 editorial suggests that we already can see the dire effects of climate change, whatever that is. The climate has always changed throughout the history of the Earth, long b...

DATE: May 18, 2014 | CATEGORY: Letters to the Editor

Help close 9-R school district’s funding gap

The Durango Education Foundation is engaged in a special “Community Action for Education, or C.A.F.É., campaign to bring support tools to the classrooms in Durango School District 9-R. Due t...

DATE: May 18, 2014 | CATEGORY: Letters to the Editor

Miraculous smile eclipsed lengthy blues

A miraculous thing happened recently. My outward smile moved from my heart and into my eyes as I smiled at strangers, clerks in the store, blossoming flowers and budding leaves on the trees....

DATE: May 18, 2014 | CATEGORY: Letters to the Editor

LPEA is no place for political extremism

Today, I put my husband, Joe Wheeling, on the plane to Denver for, potentially, the last time as LPEA’s Tri-State representative. He has been the Tri-State rep for three years and never miss...

DATE: May 17, 2014 | CATEGORY: Letters to the Editor

Who will be paying for all this clean energy?

Are you kidding me? When I read all of these good-intentioned letters about how we should think globally but act locally, I can’t help but wonder who is paying the bills for the grandiose id...

DATE: May 17, 2014 | CATEGORY: Letters to the Editor

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

Photos: A very welcome spring stormA spring storm Tuesday and Wednesday brought 1 to 2 feet of snow to the San Juan Mountains, including about 17 inches in Silverton, 19 inches at Wolf Creek Pass and 11 inches in Telluride. Meanwhile, the moisture arrived in the form of rain in lower elevations such as Durango, which received more than eight-tenths of an inch of precipitation.

A spring storm Tuesday and Wednesday brought 1 to 2 feet of snow to the San Juan Mountains, includin...

Horses downtown are happy, healthy

Retirement party spending was outrageous

Precise language would have helped editorial

Move commercial put-in from 29th Street

Koch brothers set sights on solar panels

Veterans deserve better than VA

Animas High graduating class exceptional

Durango Herald joins sky-is-falling crowd

Help close 9-R school district’s funding gap

Miraculous smile eclipsed lengthy blues

LPEA is no place for political extremism

Who will be paying for all this clean energy?

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