Regional News - The Durango Herald

Region Briefs

Colo. Springs suspect pleads guilty to arson COLORADO SPRINGS – A man who set off a small explosion near the NAACP office in Colorado Springs pleaded guilty Monday to arson under ...

DATE: Aug 3, 2015 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Holmes jury keeps execution as option as sentencing advances

CENTENNIAL – Jurors on Monday moved one step closer toward sentencing James Holmes to death for his attack in Aurora movie theater that left 12 dead. Jurors took less than three h...

DATE: Aug 3, 2015 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Veteran Affairs treatment of Grand Junction man suspect

Specialist faults medical care after vet dies from liver disease

DATE: Aug 2, 2015 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Hanging on with God’s help

Weld County ministry combines the gospel with bull riding

DATE: Aug 2, 2015 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Air wing will provide equipment to fight wildfires in the West

A federal firefighting agency is mobilizing portable fire retardant delivery systems from Peterson Air Force Base that can be inserted in military aircraft to fly wildfire suppression missio...

DATE: Aug 2, 2015 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Tougher penalties for multiple DUIs among new Colo. laws

DENVER – Colorado will begin punishing habitual drunken drivers with felonies and longer prison sentences, one of dozens of new laws taking effect next week. Law-enforcement agenc...

DATE: Aug 2, 2015 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Home auctions a luxury

High-end properties are going on the block

DATE: Aug 1, 2015 | CATEGORY: Regional News

As our state funding stalls, restaurant inspections fall

FORT COLLINS – Larimer County doesn’t have enough money to inspect its restaurants the way it should, and there’s nothing it can do about it. State law sets the fees that restaura...

DATE: Jul 31, 2015 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Trying to dial up a system that CARES

Colorado Springs groups want fewer mental health 911 calls

DATE: Jul 31, 2015 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Hospital closes after Medicare payments stop

A pair of health-care facilities shut down in Ariz. and N.M.

DATE: Jul 31, 2015 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Jurors instructed on reasons to spare Colorado gunman’s life

CENTENNIAL – Jurors in the Aurora movie-theater trial received instructions Thursday before their next round of deliberations to decide if there are any reasons to override a potential death...

DATE: Jul 30, 2015 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Denver Water debates fluoride use

DENVER – Colorado’s largest supplier of public drinking water is in the middle of a debate about how much fluoride – if any – to put into its delivery system after the federal government ann...

DATE: Jul 30, 2015 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Photos: Yards of beauty

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

Region Briefs

Holmes jury keeps execution as option as sentencing advances

Veteran Affairs treatment of Grand Junction man suspect

Hanging on with God’s help

Air wing will provide equipment to fight wildfires in the West

Tougher penalties for multiple DUIs among new Colo. laws

Home auctions a luxury

As our state funding stalls, restaurant inspections fall

Trying to dial up a system that CARES

Hospital closes after Medicare payments stop

Jurors instructed on reasons to spare Colorado gunman’s life

Denver Water debates fluoride use

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