Lawsuit accuses NYPD of secretly building ‘rogue’ DNA database

A lawsuit filed Monday accuses the New York Police Department (NYPD) of collecting genetic materials from thousands of citizens in a secret attempt to create a “rogue” DNA database.

“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 post on social media announcing the federal lawsuit.

The organization accused the NYPD of keeping citizens’ DNA “permanently stored in a rogue local database,” saying it “continuously compares past and future crime scene DNA evidence against this database, which has led to wrongful arrests and prosecutions.”

The NYPD has previously said it would review its DNA database after discreetly collecting thousands of the samples, according to CBS News.

But the Legal Aid Society said in its post that the database “only continues to grow.”

The lawsuit names the city, top police officials and the city’s chief medical examiner as defendants.

Nicholas Paolucci, a city law department spokesperson, said the city would review the lawsuit, CBS added.

“The NYPD’s investigations and tactics, including the collection of DNA, are guided by what is authorized by the law, the wealth of case law from the courts, and the best practices of the law enforcement community,” NYPD Sgt. Edward Riley said in a statement to CBS.

The chief medical officer’s office also voiced support of the database in a statement, according to the outlet.

“The local DNA database complies with all applicable laws and is managed and used in accordance with the highest scientific standards set by independent accrediting bodies that have regularly reapproved the existence of the database,” the statement said.

The Hill has reached out to the city, police department and medical examiner’s office for comment.