NYPD Accused Of Secretly Collecting DNA From Thousands Of New Yorkers For "Rogue" Database

The Legal Aid Society has filed a federal lawsuit accusing the New York Police Department of surreptitiously collecting genetic material from thousands of New Yorkers and storing it indefinitely in a "rogue" DNA database. According to the lawsuit filed Monday in federal court in Manhattan, the police routinely offer people who are being questioned about a crime a beverage, a cigarette or chewing gum and then collect DNA from the items.

"For decades, the NYPD has used dishonest tactics to obtain New Yorkers' DNA, including those as young as 11-years-old, by offering bottles of water or cigarettes to our clients detained at local precincts, the Legal Aid Society said in a Facebook post Tuesday announcing the lawsuit.

The genetic material is stored and cataloged in a "suspect index" that puts people's DNA profiles through "a genetic lineup that compares the profiles against all past and future crime scene DNA evidence — all without obtaining a warrant or court order to conduct these DNA searches," the lawsuit says.