Detectives in New York snared a suspected beer thief caught on grainy CCTV footage after feeding a photo of “lookalike” Woody Harrelson into their facial recognition database.
Officers saw similarities between the low-quality image and Harrelson and uploaded a picture of the former Cheers star into their computer.
A police report says it produced a string of potential matches, providing a lead which led to the suspect’s arrest for petty larceny.
The case has raised questions over the use of biometric evidence in criminal investigations.
But NYPD’s Sergeant Jessica McRorie said: “No one has ever been arrested on the basis of a facial recognition match alone… further investigation is always needed to develop probable cause to arrest.”
The case mirrors one in Blackpool when CCTV of a suspect with an armful of beer went viral, after having been likened to actor David Schwimmer, who played Ross in the Friends TV series.
