Legal Brief: Jailbreak Reignites Facial Recognition Discussion

    July 21, 2025
    Project N.O.L.A.'s use of the technology to pinpoint escaped fugitives once again puts it in the legal spotlight
    Timothy J. Pastore Esq., is a Partner in the New York office of Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads LLP (www.mmwr.com), where he is Vice-Chair of the Litigation Department. Before entering private practice, he was an officer and Judge Advocate General (JAG) in the U.S. Air Force and Attorney with the DOJ. tpastore@mmwr.com • (212) 551-7707
    Timothy J. Pastore Esq., is a Partner in the New York office of Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads LLP (www.mmwr.com), where he is Vice-Chair of the Litigation Department. Before entering private practice, he was an officer and Judge Advocate General (JAG) in the U.S. Air Force and Attorney with the DOJ. [email protected] • (212) 551-7707

    The Skinny:

    • Following a violent inmate jailbreak in New Orleans, law enforcement used a private facial recognition camera network (Project N.O.L.A.) to aid in recapturing fugitives, raising tensions over privacy and legal boundaries.

    • New Orleans city law restricts police use of facial recognition, but cooperation with a private group sidesteps these rules, sparking concerns.

    • The core legal challenge centers on balancing effective public safety efforts with protecting citizen privacy and determining if private surveillance groups acting with police qualify as law enforcement agents.

     

    This article originally appeared in the July 2025 issue of Security Business magazine. Feel free to share, and please don’t forget to mention Security Business magazine on LinkedIn and @SecBusinessMag on Twitter.

    A jailbreak would make any community scared and angry. As a member of that community, you would want law enforcement to do whatever they need to do to apprehend the escaped prisoners and protect your family, right? 

    Think about that for a moment – do you really want them to do whatever they need to do? Are you willing to give up some of your liberty if it will help to locate the escaped inmates?

    These are not new questions. We have confronted them for centuries. The founders of the United States mandated that we, the citizens, be free from unreasonable search and seizure, but they did not define what was unreasonable. Instead, this was left to the courts, based on evolving technology and circumstances.

    Now, a recent event in New Orleans has reignited a related policy discussion – about how far law enforcement can go to protect the community.

    On May 16, ten inmates of the Orleans Parish Prison, located in New Orleans, escaped through a hole in the wall behind a toilet. Six of them were facing charges of murder or attempted murder. Others were charged with aggravated assault with a firearm, false imprisonment with a weapon, armed robbery with a firearm, and domestic abuse. In other words, all were suspected of committing violent crimes, and all were deemed threats to the community.

    As of this writing, eight inmates have been recaptured. Two have not. As law enforcement continues the search for the two remaining fugitives, political tensions have intensified. Some believe this is the time for systemic change.

    The Role of Facial Recognition

    Immediately after the escape, Louisiana state police gave a list of the escapees to a private organization – Project N.O.L.A., which operates a robust network of approximately 5,000 private surveillance cameras in the city. Of the cameras, approximately 200 have advanced facial recognition capabilities that not only scans faces, but also clothing, vehicles, and license plates.

    Project N.O.L.A. staff receive AI-generated alerts provided by the camera network and then convey that information to police via phone calls, texts, and emails. In the recent manhunt, the use of the technology yielded almost immediate results – capturing two inmates on camera, leading to the apprehension of one and the near apprehension of the other.

    However, before the recent manhunt, the New Orleans police distanced themselves from Project N.O.L.A., claiming that they do not own, rely, manage or condone the use of the facial recognition systems it uses. Part of the motivation for denying an official relationship with Project N.O.L.A. is a New Orleans city ordinance curtailing the use of facial recognition by law enforcement.

    According to the city ordinance: “Evidence obtained from facial recognition alone shall not be sufficient to establish probable cause for the purpose of effectuating an arrest by the NOPD or another law enforcement agency. The source of the image and the underlying reasons for the requested use of facial recognition systems as an investigative lead shall be documented in a police report.”

    The ordinance adds that “facial recognition technology shall not be used as a surveillance tool,” however, it also states that “nothing in this section shall prohibit NOPD from requesting the use of facial recognition technology in the investigation of the prior occurrence of the following significant crimes as defined in Louisiana Revised Statute.” These crimes would include murder, manslaughter, solicitation of murder, first-degree robbery, drive-by shootings and carjackings.

    A recent investigation by the Washington Post suggested that, notwithstanding the city ordinance, New Orleans police were using Project N.O.L.A.’s network of facial recognition cameras to monitor the streets for wanted suspects over the past two years.

    Project N.O.L.A. is a private not-for-profit. Although it works with the New Orleans Police Department and the Louisiana State Police, they have no official contract with either agency. Consequently, the Police Department has denied that Project N.O.L.A. is bound by the ordinance. This is a convenient fact, but not one that will soon pacify civil libertarians.

    The Inevitable Legal Challenges

    At issue will be whether Project N.O.L.A. is an agent of law enforcement, how it manages the data collected on ordinary citizens, and whether the same goals can be accomplished with a more targeted use of the technology.

    No doubt we all want the remaining fugitives to be caught and for law enforcement to have all the tools necessary to do the job. The issue remains how we can meet those goals without encroaching on the privacy of everyday people – a challenge today as it was at our founding.

     

    About the Author

    Timothy J. Pastore, Esq.

    Timothy J. Pastore Esq., is a Partner in the New York office of Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads LLP (www.mmwr.com), where he is Vice-Chair of the Litigation Department. Before entering private practice, he was an officer and Judge Advocate General (JAG) in the U.S. Air Force and Attorney with the DOJ. [email protected]  •  (212) 551-7707

    Meet Timothy J. Pastore

    Timothy J. Pastore, Esq., is the newest columnist to join the Security Business magazine family. He is a Partner in the New York office of Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads LLP (www.mmwr.com), where he is Vice-Chair of the Litigation Department. 

    Before entering private practice, Mr. Pastore was an officer and Judge Advocate General (JAG) in the U.S. Air Force and a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice. As a JAG, in particular, Mr. Pastore was legal counsel to the Air Force Security Forces and Air Force Office of Special Investigations.

    Mr. Pastore has represented some of the largest companies in the security industry, including Protection One, Comcast, Charter, Cox, Altice, Mediacom, IASG, CMS and others. He regularly provides counsel on risk management, contracting, operations, licensing, sales practices, etc. Mr. Pastore also has served as lead counsel in courts throughout the country in dozens of litigation matters involving the security industry.

    Among other examples, Mr. Pastore led the successful defense at trial of cable giant Comcast in a home invasion case in Seattle, Washington. The case received significant press attention and was heralded by CVN as a top-ten defense verdict.

    Mr. Pastore is a graduate of Bucknell University and Boston College Law School.

    Reach him at (212) 551-7707 or by e-mail at [email protected].