Harvard Law dropout raises $6M for Blue Voice to build a “Harvey for police officers”

David Lawrence, once a Harvard Law student, was spurred to action after witnessing a controversial shooting between a police officer and a student on campus. Frustrated by the lack of instant access to department rules that often led to police errors, Lawrence dropped out of law school to form Blue Voice, an AI startup based in Boston.

Co-founded by Amit Patankar, a Harvard MBA and former Google engineer, and Michael Gropman, a retired Boston police deputy chief, Blue Voice aims to provide real-time policy guidance to police officers while in the field. Three years after its inception, the company has raised $6 million in funding led by SignalFire and Las Olas VC to continue its development.

Blue Voice now serves officers at 225 county agencies across 25 states, functioning as a tool akin to Harvey for lawyers or OpenEvidence for doctors. Lawrence compares it to these existing tools, stating that when an officer makes a decision, they typically rely on memory or best guesses based on thousands of pages of law, policy, and local ordinances that they've internalized.

However, traditional methods, such as flipping through a 15,000-page manual or seeking help from supervisors, are time-consuming and often result in incorrect answers, as consumer AI models can provide inaccurate information up to 30% of the time. Blue Voice differentiates itself by being trained on department-specific laws, local ordinances, protocols, and guidelines, providing officers with instant access to detailed school maps during active-shooter emergencies and ensuring they receive the correct legal guidance in real-time.

The platform's success is evident in its rapid growth, with Lawrence reporting that it grew its customer base elevenfold over the past year as police departments experienced concrete results, such as reduced crime rates and fewer operational controversies. Blue Voice has played a role in preventing a kidnapping, where a rookie officer used the app to confirm he had legal grounds to intervene following a situation involving a man attempting to lure a young girl.

Additionally, the tool has assisted department chiefs in understanding their legal obligations when returning officers to duty after a shooting incident, ensuring proper mental health evaluations are conducted. While the use of AI in police work has drawn criticism, Lawrence believes that properly deployed Blue Voice technology can enhance public safety without compromising civil rights.