Regional News - The Durango Herald

Lawsuit challenges El Paso County sheriff’s attempt to hold immigrants

DENVER – The Colorado American Civil Liberties Union on Tuesday filed a lawsuit contending a sheriff’s department is improperly holding people in the country illegally on behalf of federal a...

DATE: Feb 27, 2018 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Colorado lawmaker faces expulsion over sex misconduct claims

DENVER – A lawmaker from Colorado accused of sexual misconduct could face an expulsion vote as early as Friday. Rep. Steve Lebsock, who represents a suburban Denver district, has ...

DATE: Feb 27, 2018 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Navajo Nation cancels plans for wild horse hunt in Arizona

FARMINGTON, N.M. – The Navajo Nation canceled a planned wild horse hunt aimed at thinning a herd in an Arizona area after a protest against the hunt was planned. The Farmington Da...

DATE: Feb 27, 2018 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Guns in schools? 2 Columbine survivors are split on issue

DENVER – Patrick Neville was outside, sneaking off to smoke with friends, and avoided the outburst of gunfire at Columbine High School nearly two decades ago, but he did not dodge the heartb...

DATE: Feb 27, 2018 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Denver approves city’s first legal marijuana club

DENVER – Officials in Colorado’s largest city on Monday approved Denver’s first legal marijuana club and joined a small number of business across the country allowing people to consume in st...

DATE: Feb 26, 2018 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Lawsuit accuses Colorado Springs, others of violating accessibility laws

COLORADO SPRINGS – A disabled veteran and his wife have filed a lawsuit against Colorado Springs and others, alleging the city is woefully out of compliance with federal laws demanding equal...

DATE: Feb 26, 2018 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Girl dies 2 days after crash that killed mother, brother

DENVER – Authorities say a 3-year-old girl died two days after being in a crash in northern Colorado that killed her mother and her brother. Colorado State Patrol says 29-year-old...

DATE: Feb 26, 2018 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Denver weighs bid for Olympics after saying no thanks 42 years ago

DENVER – It promised ample snow and sunny weather on a normally bare, rocky peak easily accessible by a “super highway,” thousands more hotel rooms than existed and a cross-country ski cours...

DATE: Feb 26, 2018 | CATEGORY: Regional News

2 dead in skiing and snowboarding accidents, one near Telluride

DENVER – Two people are dead in skiing and snowboarding accidents in Colorado. The Summit County Sheriff’s Office says a skier collided with a tree at Keystone Resort on Sunday. T...

DATE: Feb 26, 2018 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Officials install well to clean up fuel leak at military base in New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE – Officials working to clean up groundwater contaminated by a jet fuel leak on a New Mexico military base hope a new extraction well will cut off the source of the contaminated p...

DATE: Feb 26, 2018 | CATEGORY: Regional News

NBA agent killed in Colorado crash; 5-year-old son injured

ASPEN – Longtime NBA agent Dan Fegan died in a car crash Sunday. He was 56. The Colorado State Patrol says Fegan was driving an SUV when he tried to merge onto a highway and was b...

DATE: Feb 26, 2018 | CATEGORY: Regional News

NBA agent killed in Colorado crash; 5-year-old son injured

ASPEN – Longtime NBA agent Dan Fegan died in a car crash Sunday. He was 56. The Colorado State Patrol says Fegan was driving an SUV when he tried to merge onto a highway and was b...

DATE: Feb 25, 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