Regional News - The Durango Herald

House committee advances possible ballot question on taxes

DENVER – A House committee on Monday advanced a bill to ask Colorado voters if the state can retain excess tax revenue and a companion bill that would spend that revenue on roads and schools...

DATE: Apr 1, 2019 | CATEGORY: Regional News

New Mexico adopts first minimum wage increase in a decade

SANTA FE – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed legislation Monday raising the state’s minimum wage for the first time in a decade from $7.50 an hour to $12 by 2023. The first increase to $9 a...

DATE: Apr 1, 2019 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Denver’s new commuter rail line set to open later this month

DENVER – The Regional Transportation District says the 11-mile commuter rail line from downtown Denver to western suburbs will open later this month. The district announced Monday...

DATE: Apr 1, 2019 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Colorado lawmakers OK bill to confiscate firearms

DENVER – The Democrat-controlled Colorado Legislature sent a “red flag” bill Monday to the governor that calls for taking firearms from people who could pose a threat to themselves or others...

DATE: Apr 1, 2019 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Foresters urge treatment of branches to prevent beetle infestation

COLORADO SPRINGS â€“ State foresters are urging residents near Colorado Springs to cut and treat the trees and branches downed by the powerful storm that struck the area in mid-March. ...

DATE: Apr 1, 2019 | CATEGORY: Regional News

New director appointed for Colorado’s Safe2Tell program

DENVER – Colorado’s program allowing anonymous tips about threats has a new leader. Attorney General Phil Weiser announced Friday that Essi Ellis will become the director of the S...

DATE: Apr 1, 2019 | CATEGORY: Regional News

4th ranked House leader seeks U.S. Senate seat in New Mexico

SANTA FE – U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján – the No. 4 ranked Democrat in Congress – announced his campaign Monday for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat in 2020. Democrats hope to keep th...

DATE: Apr 1, 2019 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Liquid mercury cleanup continues at western Colorado school

GRAND JUNCTION – A western Colorado elementary school will remain closed for a third day as crews clean up liquid mercury in several classrooms. The Daily Sentinel reports that...

DATE: Mar 31, 2019 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Polis is wary toughening vaccination exemptions, but this medical expert isn’t

Colorado’s low childhood vaccination rate worries Gov. Jared Polis. He told us this week he’s “elevating” the issue. But he also said he’s wary of any moves by the legislature to make vaccin...

DATE: Mar 31, 2019 | CATEGORY: Regional News

New Mexico to put up roadblocks for hunting, fishing seasons

SANTA FE â€“ New Mexico wildlife managers will be setting up roadblocks statewide during the upcoming hunting and fishing season to gather harvest data and to look for people who are violati...

DATE: Mar 31, 2019 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Rep. Ken Buck to lead Colorado GOP for next 2 years

ENGLEWOOD – U.S. Rep. Ken Buck has been elected chairman of the Colorado Republican Party for the next two years. The Denver Post reports that Buck was selected among four cand...

DATE: Mar 30, 2019 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Man found dead near Horsetooth Reservoir in north Colorado

FORT COLLINS – The death of a 65-year-old man whose body was found at the base of a cliff near a northern Colorado reservoir has been ruled an accident. The Larimer County Coroner...

DATE: Mar 30, 2019 | 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