As New York police brought the suspect in the Brooklyn subway shooting into custody Wednesday, Bridgeport officials said the city's video fusion center would be a key component of a similar manhunt at home.

The investigation in Brooklyn was briefly hampered by missing footage from subway surveillance cameras.

"Always a challenge when you have budgets that are cut and funding from a grant perspective, federal grant perspective," said Bridgeport Emergency Management Director Scott Appleby.

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Former state trooper and Connecticut Emergency Services official Brian Foley said on Twitter, "Having cameras down is always frustrating for detectives, yet common. But cops get promoted to detective because they are really good at what they do."

Appleby confirmed that video is extremely beneficial to an investigation, but not a replacement for old-fashioned police work.

"Here's what I have from on the scene, here's video surveillance and information I have from that data, and then it makes their case a little more solid," said Appleby.

He says public surveillance cameras aren't the only source of multimedia clues.

"Business cameras, residents with cellphones, businesses with cellphones - we all play a part in this. Our world has been changing," he said.

The estimated $2 million Fusion Center was built and run with a combination of city and federal funding.