Regional News - The Durango Herald

New wildfires sweep through California, burning homes

LOS ANGELES – Firefighters toiled in stifling heat Saturday on the lines of destructive wildfires across the U.S. West, making progress against some blazes while struggling to tame others th...

DATE: Jul 7, 2018 | CATEGORY: Regional News

2 young mountain goats shot on Colorado mountain trail

BRECKENRIDGE – Officials say two young mountain goats were shot and killed near a mountain summit in central Colorado. The state is offering a $1,000 reward for information leadin...

DATE: Jul 7, 2018 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Researchers study what happens to the dead in Arizona desert

PHOENIX – A team of researchers is trying to better understand what happens to migrants who die crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, including many whose bodies are never recovered. T...

DATE: Jul 7, 2018 | CATEGORY: Regional News

EPA accelerates cleanup of Pueblo Superfund neighborhoods

PUEBLO â€“ The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it will accelerate the cleanup of three Pueblo neighborhoods that were contaminated by a smelter. The agency said Friday i...

DATE: Jul 7, 2018 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Crews at Colorado wildfire mark Storm King anniversary

EL JEBEL, Colo. (AP) – It is not lost on nearly 400 firefighters who have descended on the tiny Colorado mountain town of El Jebel that they are battling a blaze similar to the 1994 Storm Ki...

DATE: Jul 7, 2018 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Bones found in Albuquerque link to archaeological site

ALBUQUERQUE – Bones discovered earlier this week not far from an area where 11 women were found buried nearly a decade ago are not related to an unsolved serial killing, but rather are part ...

DATE: Jul 6, 2018 | CATEGORY: Regional News

New Mexico watches water disappear as drought grips entire state

ALBUQUERQUE – Water levels at New Mexico’s largest reservoir are dropping and more rivers around the state are being reduced to a trickle as residents, farmers and water managers anxiously a...

DATE: Jul 6, 2018 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Colorado journalist says she was detained for taking photos

DENVER – An editor for a Colorado online investigative news publication said Friday she was handcuffed by Denver police after she started photographing them standing around a handcuffed man ...

DATE: Jul 6, 2018 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Researchers collect oral histories from rural New Mexico

LAS CRUCES – Two New Mexico State University researchers are traveling the state to collect stories about daily life in rural New Mexico during the early- and mid-1900s. Associate...

DATE: Jul 6, 2018 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Hiker missing in Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park

BOULDER – A search is underway in Rocky Mountain National Park in northern Colorado for a 38-year-old man who failed to return from a day hike nearly a week ago. The Daily Camera ...

DATE: Jul 6, 2018 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Teen drowns at northern Colorado lake

LOVELAND – Authorities say a Greeley teenager who was pulled out of a northern Colorado lake died from drowning. The Loveland Daily Reporter-Herald reports 17-year-old Zachariah A...

DATE: Jul 6, 2018 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Wildfire near Aspen sends residents fleeing

Highway in Utah shut down because of fire

DATE: Jul 5, 2018 | CATEGORY: Regional News

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

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

Demons win home meet against local schools on Saturday