Legal Aid Society files federal lawsuit accusing NYPD of surreptitiously collecting genetic material from thousands of New Yorkers. DNA is stored indefinitely in a "rogue" DNA database, the lawsuit says. Police offer people who are being questioned
Highlights
- The Legal Aid Society accuses the NYPD of surreptitiously collecting genetic material from thousands of New Yorkers and storing it indefinitely in a “rogue” DNA database.
- The police offer people who are being questioned about a crime a beverage, a cigarette or chewing gum and then collect DNA from the items.
- The city’s chief medical officer’s office says the DNA database “complies with all applicable laws and is managed and used in accordance with the highest scientific standards set by independent accrediting bodies” The city promised to reduce the size of its DNA database, but it only continues to grow, the group says.
- NYPD says it collects DNA “to legally identify the correct perpetrator, build the strongest case possible”