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A running, sourced timeline of how license-plate readers, body cams and AI policing tools are actually going — and what the failures cost taxpayers.

Timeline / entry

· Seattle, WA

Seattle Police cancels Truleo bodycam AI contract after union objections

The Seattle Police Department cancelled its contract with Truleo, a firm that uses artificial intelligence to analyze body-camera video, on Feb. 7, 2023. The department had renewed the two-year, $400,000 contract on Jan. 15 after a trial showed promise. Chief Operating Officer Brian Maxey cancelled it after privacy concerns and criticism from the police union. The department had spent $220,500 of public funds on the contract, which had not been recouped as of March. The cancellation is under scrutiny following a recording of a police union official making comments about a woman killed by an officer.

$220,500Cancelled contractreportedon THE TABAmount spent on cancelled contract, not recouped

Also in Seattle, WA

4 entries over 3 yr 6 mo, oldest first. The gap is the time since the previous one.

  1. Seattle Police cancels Truleo bodycam AI contract after union objections this entry
  2. +8 monthsSeattle OIG report finds ALPR misreads and erroneous stops from outdated hotlist data
  3. +11 monthsKing County prosecutors reject AI-written police reports
  4. +1 yr 11 moSPD staffer fired for destroying records, delaying bodycam releases

Sources

  1. Decision to halt program analyzing Seattle police bodycam video under scrutiny — The Seattle Times, Sep 27, 2023 (seattletimes.com)[archive]

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