So much for the early bird getting the worm—all this fellow got for getting going in New Orleans’ French Quarter at 6:30 a.m. is beaten and robbed. In footage captured by the New Orleans Police Department’s city-wide Project NOLA surveillance system, two black women approach the 51-year-old man, talking to him, and then punch him, knocking him to the ground. Once down, the duo rifle his pockets, grabbing his wallet and cellphone, then speed off in a waiting SUV. Perhaps most shocking, a seemingly unconnected man walks by, giving little more than a glance to the melee playing out on the ground.
The NOPD released the footage hoping for the public’s assistance in identifying the apparent crooks, who they describe as “one black female, and one subject who is a possible black transgender female.” Anyone with information is urged to contact the department directly.
The Project NOLA program utilizes over 1,400 cameras on homes and businesses that feed into an Incident Monitoring Center, and is the largest domestic law enforcement surveillance program of its kind. It is credited with assisting in the solving of over 500 crimes, and is funded wholly by private donors and corporate sponsorships.