Even With Cameras Everywhere and Facial Recognition, NYPD Helpless to Catch CEO Killer

Was the police really foiled by a simple surgical mask?

Goose Chase

Despite a massively bloated budget, access to more than 15,000 camera feeds, and cutting-edge facial recognition tech, the New York City Police Department appears to be not much closer to tracking down the identity of the man who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Thompson was shot outside of a Midtown Manhattan hotel on Wednesday morning, leading to a nationwide goose chase assisted by the FBI — and the subsequent manhunt is a fascinating test of whether NYC's aggressive surveillance panopticon is actually useful when push comes to shove.

A recovered backpack that allegedly belonged to the suspect contained only two items: a Tommy Hilfiger jacket and Monopoly money, according to ABC News, which doesn't sound likely to aid the NYPD in their search.

Not even the roughly 45-pound electric CityBike the suspect rode towards Central Park has so far been recovered. (Police do insist they're making progress on the case behind the scenes.)

It's an unfortunate reality check given the extent of the influence and power handed out to law enforcement. The NYPD spends roughly $29 million every day, according to recent estimates, with critics arguing all that taxpayer money could be spent on much more meaningful initiatives for the betterment of society.

Masked Vigilante

Meanwhile, police believe that the suspect boarded a bus out of the city at the Port Authority bus facility. That means he may have gotten off at six or seven different stops, which could broaden the manhunt considerably.

Still, some experts are hopeful that law enforcement will soon apprehend the killer.

"I’m thinking we’re going to know who this is within a matter of a few more days, if that," former FBI profiler Mary Ellen O’Toole told CNN. "He’s completely outnumbered. With that kind of manpower behind their efforts, they’re going to come up with the information that identifies him."

"The ability to stand up against that kind of an investigation, one person can’t do it, no matter how arrogant you are," she added. "You’re bound to make mistakes."

Yet countless questions remain. Did the killer want to send a message, as the bullet shells recovered at the scene — "deny," "defend," and "depose" — and the Monopoly money in his backpack would suggest? Was he "extremely camera savvy," as one senior law enforcement official told the New York Times, by still obscuring the rest of his head with a hood even while flashing a smile to the front desk employee at the hostel where he stayed before the slaying?

If anything, the killer has demonstrated that despite committing a blatant murder in one of the most intensely surveilled places in the world, one can still easily avoid detection — which doesn't bode well given how much money is being poured into law enforcement each year.

More on the hunt: NYPD Ridiculed for Saying AI Will Find CEO Killer as They Fail to Name Suspect