French Quarter bar helps NOPD identify and nab suspect with security tech

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) — A bar in the French Quarter is using high-tech measures to protect the neighborhood from the city’s growing crime. This week, he helped the NOPD identify and capture a suspect in less than an hour.

“I think we have a bigger responsibility to take care of our neighborhood, so we’re doing what we can,” Three Legged Dog owner Tim Blake said.

The three-legged dog has been on the bustling corner of Conti and Burgundy for decades, open 24 hours a day, so safety is a priority for Blake.

“We have a driver’s license reader that we use to scan to make sure everyone is legal, obviously, and we want to deal with the nefarious characters that don’t like carrying their IDs,” Blake said. .

Blake says they keep information on bad actors they have banned and that’s what an NOPD officer may have referred to after recognizing a suspect in an alleged assault nearby Sunday morning in Chartres. The officer knew the suspect was hanging out in the area of ​​the three-legged dog.

It turns out the suspect, whom police were able to identify as 67-year-old Leonard Landry, was listed in the bar’s database of banned patrons, but that’s not where the help stops. .

“You can give ProjectNOLA a photo and it only takes them a few seconds, they could run it through their quarter-wide facial recognition program,” Blake said. “Very quickly they can come up with a name and then he can’t give us the name because it’s not allowed, so what we do is put him in contact with the police.”

NOPD says they never asked for or used facial recognition technology, just the name and a video to verify available investigative resources.

This technology will be coming to town soon, but Blake says being the host of ProjectNOLA’s freelance crime cameras since their inception has been helpful. The network is not connected to any outside agencies, even NOPD does not have direct access.

Blake even tests a special heat-sensing thermal camera inside the bar.

“It highlights the shadows of knives, weapons, gun holsters, whatever you’re trying to hide, and then with facial recognition we can then see who you are,” Blake said.

Criminal incidents are up 43% over last year according to city data and the crew of the Three Legged Dog is on the prowl, even getting into some situations.

In this case, the general manager, Todd Lively, was about to leave for the day and spotted Landry on the way out, further helping police apprehend him within an hour of identifying him.

“I think we can all agree that there are problems in the city and if you all try to do what you can in your corner then maybe there are improvements,” said said Blake.

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