Opinion Columns - The Durango Herald

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Executive branch actions thrusting a knife deep into the heart of the Rule of Law

You may have heard a lot lately about the Rule of Law. You may wonder about its effect on your own lives or why you should even care. Frankly, the term is vague, but if you take one message ...

DATE: May 2, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Spare me your selective outrage, not on my behalf please

I have been closely watching the Trump administration’s newfound interest in fighting antisemitism. Its version apparently consists of cracking down on Ivy League universities like Columbia ...

DATE: Apr 30, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

FLC lecture and ‘cancel culture’: Reclaiming a missed opportunity

When Fort Lewis College canceled “Saving Navajo Weaving,” the final program in its Life-Long Learning Lecture Series on April 17, it missed what used to be called a “teaching moment.” Jackso...

DATE: Apr 27, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Public media funds exist because of bipartisan support and will take it to preserve them

Since 1976, KSUT has served the Four Corners with trusted news, inspiring music and unique storytelling. But now, critical funding is under threat. For over 20 years, KSUT has received fina...

DATE: Apr 27, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Setting the record straight on Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association’s progress

Recent commentary, including a column (Herald, Apr. 16) from the executive director of the San Juan Citizens Alliance, misrepresents Tri-State. As Tri-State’s Chief Executive Officer, I’d li...

DATE: Apr 27, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Saving democracy requires staying informed, involved and speaking up

For over 105 years, the League of Women Voters’ mission has been to defend democracy and empower voters through nonpartisan voter education and engagement. In 1920, six months before the pas...

DATE: Apr 25, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is eroding the rule of law

“I got lucky,” José told me. “Because they got the wrong person.” José, 28, who did not give his last name for fear of retribution from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said he was ...

DATE: Apr 23, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

What to say to graduates in a spring 2025 commencement speech

All across America, commencement speakers this spring are pondering what to write and how to address graduation audiences. Students have finished their high school careers. College students ...

DATE: Apr 20, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

To protect Colorado families, Congress must protect clean energy credits

Costs are high everywhere these days, and skyrocketing energy bills are throwing a wrench in the finances of too many families in Colorado. We’re caught in the crosshairs of economic breakdo...

DATE: Apr 20, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

A note on history: ‘We the People’ are failing our democracy

Scott Perez hit the nail on the head in his column, “Both parties have failed ‘We the People,’” (Herald, Mar. 5). The current state of our political affairs is an embarrassment, and the cloa...

DATE: Apr 20, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

A tale of two bills: Nuclear got huge attention and means little, transmission has been mostly ignored

Matters of little consequence often get major time and attention. And vice versa. Two energy bills in the Colorado Legislature this year, one about nuclear energy and the second about electr...

DATE: Apr 20, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

The curious and peculiar language of sport, an important part of our everyday lives

I used to begin a Sport Sociology class with the thought of aliens flying over Earth and seeing the numerous stadiums on Saturday and Sunday afternoons filled with 80,000 to 100,000 Earthlin...

DATE: Apr 18, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Photos: Battle of the Animas

Photos: Animas River Days

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