Douglas Schantz: An Update

So the T-P is now reporting that Schantz probably fell into the river. While this is extremely tragic, it leaves me with more questions.

First of all - why did it take the NOPD approximately 3 days to put together the footage tracing from from Razzoos to the river? Are the crime cameras that cumbersome to operate? Or (more likely) is this the first time anyone from the NOPD has used the crime cameras to solve an actual crime. Also - am confused about what the crime cameras actually show. Are they live streaming video footage, or are they pictures of the area taken every 2 minutes? How can someone be on a crime camera at one moment, and then disappear at another? If it is this "still-shot" system - what is the frequency with which they take photographs?

Second: Why was this being treated like a homicide for the first 3 days of the investigation? Last night I spoke to a police officer (while standing in line waiting for a commemorative Saints signed DVD...), and he told me that he and his friends on the force thought the whole thing was being handled very oddly. He said that they were all speculating that either a) there was some sort of ransom situation that they weren't telling anyone about or b) that dead body they found in gentilly was him. Now that we know he is probably in the river -- why were they so cloak and dagger about the whole thing? I get not wanting to spotlight a tourist murder during the biggest convention since Katrina, but had they been more on their game (see, e.g., my first question) they would have known he was probably in the river, and people would have been able to target their search for his body.

Third: How did this man get so drunk? He was 54 years old, he had a flight early in the morning and was planning to meet up with his daughter - how much was he drinking? Did he *intend* to get that drunk? Is it possible he was drugged? They are saying he appeared "disoriented" -- did someone slip him something?

We may obviously never know the answers to these questions. My thoughts go out with the family.