Following records requests from The Post, officials paused the first known, widespread live facial recognition program used by police in the United States.

New Orleans police have reportedly spent years scanning live feeds of city streets and secretly using facial recognition to identify suspects in real time—in seeming defiance of a city ordinance designed to prevent false arrests and protect citizens' civil rights.

New Orleans quietly served as a testing ground for one of the most ambitious – and controversial – uses of facial recognition in

New Orleans police paused its use of a privately run facial recognition camera network last month amid legal and privacy questions from The Washington Post. Why it matters: It's likely the first AI-enhanced live surveillance system to be used in a major American city,

The Post investigators started firing off questions to the police and the city in February. On April 8, NOPD boss Anne Kirkpatrick reportedly sent out an all-hands memo to staff, saying that an officer had raised concerns about the system and suspended its use.

New Orleans police have secretly been using facial recognition software to monitor citizens in an effort to identify crime suspects, according to a new report.

“Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick directed the suspension of automated alerts from Project NOLA’s facial recognition system, once made aware of their use,” the statement said. “This decision was made to ensure full compliance with NOPD policy, city ordinance and constitutional standards.

The nonprofit is at the center of a debate about facial recognition, real-time surveillance, and the expanding role of private organizations in public policing.

Network of face recognition surveillance cameras distinguishes New Orleans as the worst abuser of this technology in the nation