Briefs - The Durango Herald

Fenceline releases new red-fleshed cider in Colorado, Arizona

Herald Staff Report Fenceline Cider has introduced a new bottle cider, the Spur Bearer. This cider is crafted from rare, red-fleshed apples that are close relatives of the wild ap...

DATE: Aug 3, 2020 | CATEGORY: Food

Chimney Rock Interpretative Association offers flora tour Aug. 6

Chimney Rock Interpretative Association in conjunction with the U.S. Forest Service will offer a new flora tour Thursday. The tour travels up to the two pinnacles and examines th...

DATE: Aug 1, 2020 | CATEGORY: Southwest Life

Edible plant hikes offered Aug. 8, Aug. 15

Community members can learn about edible and medicinal plants in the local environment during two alpine hikes Aug. 8 and Aug. 15. Participants will sample the bounty of nature w...

DATE: Jul 31, 2020 | CATEGORY: Community

Durango Adult Education Center director to address Rotary Club

Durango Adult Education Center Director Susan Hakanson will speak at a virtual meeting of the Rotary Club of Durango at 6 p.m. Tuesday via Zoom. The talk will include current info...

DATE: Jul 31, 2020 | CATEGORY: Community

Celebrate Colorado Day with free entrance into state parks Monday

To celebrate Colorado Day, and the 144th birthday of the state, Colorado Parks and Wildlife will offer free entry to 41 state parks Monday. Although the state recognizes this ann...

DATE: Jul 30, 2020 | CATEGORY: Local News

San Juan County Public Works to begin work on County Road 6100

San Juan County Public Works crews will be chip-sealing County Road 6100 in Kirtland, New Mexico, starting Monday. There will be significant disruption on County Road 6100, betwe...

DATE: Jul 30, 2020 | CATEGORY: New Mexico

Wilderness Life Support offering two Durango classes

Wilderness Life Support will hold two wilderness medicine training courses in Durango during the next two months for individuals who want to learn how to be safe recreating outdoors. The P...

DATE: Jul 30, 2020 | CATEGORY: Outdoors

Census event to give away free PPE essentials to Ute Mountain Ute members

The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe will give away personal protective equipment essentials (hand sanitizer and other essentials) at drive-thru census events Friday and Saturday. The firs...

DATE: Jul 30, 2020 | CATEGORY: Local News

Southern Ute Indian Tribe rescinds Stage 1, Stage 2 fire restrictions

Because of the recent and widespread monsoon moisture, Stage 1 and Stage 2 fire restrictions have been rescinded for all trust lands throughout the Southern Ute Indian Reservation as of Wedn...

DATE: Jul 30, 2020 | CATEGORY: Local News

Pediatric Associates of Durango announces new ownership

Pediatric Associates of Durango welcomes new patients again. Stacy Bower is the new owner of the practice and will continue the tradition of east meets west pediatric care. Bower...

DATE: Jul 30, 2020 | CATEGORY: Business

Colorado Department of Health and the Environment to host COVID-19 mitigation webinar

Colorado Department of Health and the Environment will host a COVID-19 mitigation webinar at 12:10 p.m. Thursday. The webinar is geared toward Coloradoâ€™s agriculture sector and ...

DATE: Jul 30, 2020 | CATEGORY: Business

4 Corners Children’s Clinic to open

Jessica Rensner, CPNP has announced she will be opening a small, personalized pediatric clinic. More information regarding 4 Corners Children’s Clinic and the grand opening will ...

DATE: Jul 30, 2020 | CATEGORY: Business

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

Fenceline releases new red-fleshed cider in Colorado, Arizona

Chimney Rock Interpretative Association offers flora tour Aug. 6

Edible plant hikes offered Aug. 8, Aug. 15

Durango Adult Education Center director to address Rotary Club

Celebrate Colorado Day with free entrance into state parks Monday

San Juan County Public Works to begin work on County Road 6100

Wilderness Life Support offering two Durango classes

Census event to give away free PPE essentials to Ute Mountain Ute members

Southern Ute Indian Tribe rescinds Stage 1, Stage 2 fire restrictions

Pediatric Associates of Durango announces new ownership

Colorado Department of Health and the Environment to host COVID-19 mitigation webinar

4 Corners Children’s Clinic to open

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