Briefs - The Durango Herald

Construction work to cause traffic impacts at the U.S. Highway 160/Highway 172 intersection

A total of 12 concrete bridge girders, each 140 feet long and weighing 185,000 pounds, will be transported to the U.S. Highway 550/U.S. Highway 160 Connection South Project site next week. ...

DATE: Apr 16, 2021 | CATEGORY: Local News

San Juan College to host virtual AstroFriday

San Juan College Planetarium will present AstroFriday featuring “Apollo 13 – Houston We’ve Got a Problem” at 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. Friday on Zoom. The 28-minute video depicts the voy...

DATE: Apr 15, 2021 | CATEGORY: New Mexico

Colorado Parks and Wildlife reminds residents to be bear-aware

Bears are beginning to emerge from hibernation, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife encourages residents to be bear-aware. Bird feeders are a major source of bear conflicts and shoul...

DATE: Apr 14, 2021 | CATEGORY: Local News

Durango Police urge residents to take steps to curb rising vehicle theft

Theft of vehicles in Durango increased from 36 in 2019 to 54 in 2020. There have already been 11 vehicles thefts in 2021. Nearly 100% of vehicle thefts in Durango could have been prevented b...

DATE: Apr 14, 2021 | CATEGORY: Local News

Mercy Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine Center recognized for excellence

Mercy Regional Medical Centerâ€™s Wound Care Clinic and Hyperbaric Medicine Center was recently recognized and awarded a Center of Distinction Award by Healogics. The center achi...

DATE: Apr 14, 2021 | CATEGORY: Health

Earth Week Bingo is back with activities and virtual events

Earth Day is April 22, and the city of Durango partnered with local organizations to celebrate virtually with Earth Week Bingo. Community members are invited to complete family-friendly acti...

DATE: Apr 14, 2021 | CATEGORY: Local News

Absolute Physical Therapy and Wellness therapist attends seminar

Amanda St. Pierre of Absolute Physical Therapy and Wellness recently attended the course seminar series “When The Feet Hit The Ground ... Running,” in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The ...

DATE: Apr 13, 2021 | CATEGORY: Business

Region 9 EDD part of Statewide Loan partnership with EDA Funds to help rural Colorado businesses

Region 9 Economic Development District of Southwest Colorado, along with nonprofit lender partners Colorado Lending Source and Colorado Enterprise Fund, will help distribute an $8 million do...

DATE: Apr 13, 2021 | CATEGORY: Business

Region 9 Economic Development District announces new loan committee member

Eric Jones will join the Region 9 Economic Development District’s Business Loan Fund Committee as a lender representative. Jones is a commercial loan officer at Bank of the San Ju...

DATE: Apr 13, 2021 | CATEGORY: Business

Goff Engineering and Surveying employee earns license

Goff Engineering and Surveying, Inc. announced Derek Stoddard has successfully completed the Principles and Practices of Land Surveying exam for the State of Colorado and is a registered Pro...

DATE: Apr 13, 2021 | CATEGORY: Business

Fenceline Cider receives three awards at the 2021 New York International Cider Competition

Fenceline Cider earned three new awards at the New York International Cider Competition. Windfall received a Silver Award in the Wood-Aged Category and Understory Elderberry won ...

DATE: Apr 13, 2021 | CATEGORY: Business

La Plata County Commissioner Clyde Church to offer phone-in office hours

La Plata County Commissioner Clyde Church will hold office hours by telephone from 3 to 5 p.m. Thursday, instead of in-person, in an effort to follow public health guidelines on social dista...

DATE: Apr 13, 2021 | CATEGORY: Local News

Photos: Mancos BurroFest

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

Photos: Fort Lewis College commencement ceremony