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NYPD used Woody Harrelson photo to find lookalike beer thief

A report says the New York Police Department used a photo of Woody Harrelson in its facial recognition program in an attempt to identify a beer thief who looked like the actor.

Actor Woody Harrelson in a 2012 file photograph. (AP Photo / Matt Sayles)
Actor Woody Harrelson in a 2012 file photograph. (AP Photo / Matt Sayles)Read moreAP
    by The Associated Press, The Associated Press
    Published 

NEW YORK — A report says the New York Police Department used a photo of Woody Harrelson in its facial recognition program in an attempt to identify a beer thief who looked like the actor.

Georgetown University's Center on Privacy and Technology highlighted the April 2017 episode in a report Thursday on what it says are flawed practices in law enforcement's use of facial recognition.

The report said Harrelson’s photo produced several possible matches, and contributed to one arrest. Harrelson’s photo was used because security footage was too pixelated.

The NYPD said that facial recognition is only a means of producing leads and that no one has been arrested because of a facial match alone.

The Georgetown report said facial recognition has helped the NYPD crack about 2,900 cases in more than five years of using the technology.