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Utah Police Keep Testing AI Report Writers After 'Frog' Flub

The case intensified questions over accuracy, audit trails, reliance on time‑saving report generators.

Overview

  • Heber City began piloting Axon’s Draft One and a rival system, Code Four, in December to generate draft reports from body‑camera audio.
  • A Draft One narrative falsely claimed an officer turned into a frog after the software incorporated background lines from The Princess and the Frog, according to Sgt. Rick Keel.
  • Officials expect to continue AI-assisted reporting with added oversight, with the Code Four trial ending next month and a final vendor decision still pending.
  • Keel says the tools save him six to eight hours each week, while Axon promotes Draft One as cutting report-writing time roughly in half using GPT‑4, though drafts still need human edits.
  • An EFF probe found Draft One difficult to audit and public records show use across serious cases, fueling support for policies such as California’s S.B. 524 that would require disclosure and limit scope.