Cutting-edge technology, including a state-of-the-art camera network and artificial intelligence-powered facial recognition software, is being used by police in the hunt for the brazen killer who shot and killed United Healthcare President Brian Thompson in broad daylight on Sixth Avenue. There is. on wednesday.
These are just a few of the sophisticated tools the NYPD has at its disposal, along with drones, DNA testing, GPS tracking, and more. Some of these technologies have already proven invaluable in piecing together moments before and after Thompson. 50 years old, executed on the street.
Hotel surveillance cameras showed the gunman, still at large, waiting patiently outside the New York Hilton Midtown on West 54th Street, approaching his target, the CEO of a major health care company, from behind and leaving his bodyguards to accompany him. The scene of the gun being fired was captured. Thompson was killed at close range just before 7 a.m.
A woman who witnessed the incident up close can be seen running for her life, while the perpetrator appears to calmly leave the scene, sneaking down an alley and disappearing into Central Park on an electric bike.
Since then, police have poured incredible resources into identifying the assassin and unraveling his movements before this brazen crime.
So far, a network of surveillance cameras run by both the NYPD and a private company has uncovered photos of the suspect smiling at the police station. HI New York City Hostel at 891 Amsterdam Avenue on Manhattan's Upper West Side before the murder.
Other footage showed the suspect and his partially obscured face inside a Starbucks near the crime scene, which the suspect had visited minutes before the shooting. Police also recovered shell casings and a mobile phone left by the perpetrator from the scene.
Here's how technology is aiding police investigations:
facial recognition
The NYPD has a specialized unit known as the Facial Identification Section that uses software to extract crime scene and investigation images from a database of known individuals, including mugshots, pistol permit images, and photos of gang members. Compare with fox business I will report.
Herman Weisberg, a former New York City police detective, said facial recognition technology has come a long way in recent years, but it's nothing like the movies.
“This man was wearing a mask,” said Weisberg, now managing director of the private investigation firm Sage Intelligence. “Facial recognition software recognizes points on his face and measures the distance between them. , could be a hindrance,” he told the Post.
“The technology exists and is fine in controlled environments like Las Vegas casinos, but it's not very effective in footage shot on the street in low light or bad weather.”
A photo of the man who police say is the murderer was shown smiling with his mask pulled down at the hostel where he was staying. But the angle of his head and the fact that he was still wearing his hood could impede analysis, officials said.
“As far as tracking a guy on a bike with a gray hoodie and a backpack on, the cameras are so massive that if you miss him on one block, you'll find him on the next block and start advertising there. You can.
“It's a painstaking, tedious task, and it's not as easy as it looks…but the NYPD has gotten very good at using public video for crimes of this magnitude,” Weisberg said. added.
In 2019, the NYPD's Facial Recognition Unit received 9,850 comparison requests, according to the department's website.
From these requests, the unit identified 2,510 possible matches to the suspect. This includes possible matches for 68 murders, 66 rapes, 277 felony assaults, 386 robberies, and 525 grand larcenies.
The law states that while facial recognition technology is a valuable tool in solving crimes, it alone is not sufficient basis for an arrest and must be accompanied by police action. new york city police.
surveillance video
New York has an extensive camera system that constantly monitors the city, and police have access to it.
The NYPD also utilizes the Domain Awareness System, one of the world's largest networks of cameras, license plate readers, and radiation sensors designed to detect and prevent acts of terrorism, but also extremely useful in criminal investigations. has value. According to that site.
The system reportedly consists of numerous physical and software components, including more than 18,000 closed-circuit television cameras.
“The NYPD installs its own security cameras, especially in the high-traffic Midtown area and subway stations. It's a very impressive system with cutting-edge technology that outperforms your typical storefront camera. also offers significant benefits,” Weisberg added.
“It's a huge improvement over the old system. It has high-resolution cameras that can shoot in low-light conditions. Also, these cameras are operated by the NYPD, so they can be used to detect crime and hopefully help with hunting.” It is designed and angled to “hunt down people fleeing the scene.” ”
In addition, dash cams and other cameras on city-owned trucks, buses, cars, and of course police officers themselves are recording anytime and anywhere.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenney told reporters that police are “obtaining video from many locations and from many sources” as they search for the suspect, who was wearing a “distinctive gray backpack.” he said.
Because there are so many cameras in the city, including many operated by private companies, it is likely that the suspect's footage has not yet been released to the public.
The New York City Police Department is the most technologically advanced police department in the country and one of the most advanced in the world utilizing the latest technology.
“All the technology that is available has advanced, including advanced photography, fingerprints, all kinds of DNA, resources that allow us to take cell phone records, and technological aspects that are available today that were not available a few years ago. [investigators]'' explained Leonard Golino, a former NYPD homicide detective. He is currently the owner of the private detective agency Gold Shield Elite.
Golino explained that authorities had to narrow down their search because there are so many video cameras on every street, building, lobby and subway station in New York City.
“We need a starting point; [in this case] They have it — locations and individuals that appear on camera, [investigators] Next, zoom in to the area the subject passes through and follow its trajectory. From there, they search the area, see what kind of cameras are set up, and try to pull the footage and match it to the suspect. ”
GPS trackingballistic and DNA testing
Law enforcement officials previously said the masked gunman was using a silencer and appeared to be an experienced shooter when he pumped bullets into Thompson, Minnesota, leaving him lying on the sidewalk.
Security footage showed the gunman's weapon malfunctioning during the shooting, but he quickly fixed the problem and continued firing while the CEO tried to crawl away.
“His ability to break up traffic couldn't be better,” Weisberg said.
“Having that clarity under that pressure means he's well-trained to stay calm and defuse the traffic jams that every police officer and military officer experiences and keeps at the forefront of their minds. It means that.
“He definitely trained at least at a shooting range.”
Police said the suspect shot and killed Thompson, then ran into an alley, jumped on an electric bike and headed north along Sixth Avenue into Central Park, where surveillance cameras obscured the scene.
Police initially said the suspect entered Central Park on a bike from the city's CitiBike bike-sharing program, but Lyft, which runs the program, later said the bike was not one of its bikes. he admitted.
Other evidence being examined includes three live 9mm bullets and three ejected shell casings recovered in front of the Hilton Hotel on Sixth Avenue, and Mr. Thompson attended an investor meeting that morning. It was scheduled to be hosted.
“The crime scene is an important point in the early stages of an investigation, especially when it provides trajectory data and flight direction footage that can provide information about the murder weapon,” Golino said.
Police also said they found a water bottle and a protein bar wrapper that the suspect had apparently purchased minutes before the shooting in a trash can near the shooting scene.
Officials said DNA evidence was recovered from the items. Officials said the Starbucks coffee cup believed to have been used by the shooter was also undergoing DNA testing, with results expected within the next few days.
drone
Although surveillance cameras are installed at the entrance to Central Park and the subway stations, there are many blind spots within the park.
That's one reason the NYPD uses drones for routine neighborhood patrols and, in some cases, to respond to emergencies, such as searching for missing or wanted persons.
Last month, Mayor Eric Adams and police officials announced an expansion of the city's Drone-as-First Responder (DFR) program. The program includes 109 drones flown by approximately 60 law enforcement officers certified by the Federal Aviation Administration.
“The DFR program is designed to assist with missing person searches, alerts from gunshot detection systems, and calls to public safety, including burglaries, grand larcenies, and other crimes in progress,” Adams said at a press conference in November. We will be deploying drones,” he said, led by the expanded program announced. By Kaz Daughtry, NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations.
“These drones [give] Enable live feed [officers] This is to perform an initial scene evaluation. ”
All drones are controlled from a room at police headquarters in Lower Manhattan.
“If you're looking for something specific, a drone costs less than a helicopter,” Golino told the Post.
“There are various types, including thermal sensor types, those that can detect movement and zoom in on a specific area, or capture the subject itself or a misplaced item. and speed it up.”
But Golino and Weisberg agree that, alongside all the technology and advanced search systems, there's no substitute for good old-fashioned police work: putting on boots, talking to people, and gathering evidence. .
“There are a lot of pieces and pieces to be done.” [a manhunt] As you can see, there is a lot packed into it.
“You just have to take it one step at a time,” Golino added.
