The Casper, Wyoming, City Council unanimously approved a one-year, $58,800 contract on Tuesday, October 6, allowing the Casper Police Department to use TRULEO body-camera software full time. The authorization came almost six months after the council approved a test of the AI-powered software on April 7. The move followed months of debate about whether police should use AI and what safeguards should accompany it.

TRULEO advertises AI-assisted report writing, summaries of encounters or meetings, automated review of body-worn camera footage, an AI assistant and AI-assisted interviews. Police and the company say the software can access only information officers explicitly authorize and does not store that data locally; instead, the company says, it streams information from its original storage location.

Social media commenters had expressed doubt and discontent about police use of AI, but public comments at Tuesday’s council meeting did not address the software. The contract first appeared on the consent agenda, and Vice Mayor Kyle Gamroth considered pulling it for discussion. After brief remarks from Police Chief Shane Chaney and Capt. Jeremy Tremel, Gamroth left it on the agenda, and the council approved it without further discussion. The April 7 test approval also passed on the consent agenda without public discussion. Council members had generally avoided public comment on the software, and several declined to respond to the Casper Star-Tribune before the meeting.

The Casper, Wyoming, City Council unanimously approved a one-year, $58,800 contract on Tuesday, October 6, allowing the Casper Police Department to use TRULEO body-camera software full time. The authorization came almost six months after the council approved a test of the AI-powered software on April 7. The move followed months of debate about whether police should use AI and what safeguards should accompany it.

TRULEO advertises AI-assisted report writing, summaries of encounters or meetings, automated review of body-worn camera footage, an AI assistant and AI-assisted interviews. Police and the company say the software can access only information officers explicitly authorize and does not store that data locally; instead, the company says, it streams information from its original storage location.

Social media commenters had expressed doubt and discontent about police use of AI, but public comments at Tuesday’s council meeting did not address the software. The contract first appeared on the consent agenda, and Vice Mayor Kyle Gamroth considered pulling it for discussion. After brief remarks from Police Chief Shane Chaney and Capt. Jeremy Tremel, Gamroth left it on the agenda, and the council approved it without further discussion. The April 7 test approval also passed on the consent agenda without public discussion. Council members had generally avoided public comment on the software, and several declined to respond to the Casper Star-Tribune before the meeting.