Illegal DNA checkpoints are spreading across the U.S.
PA - A private firm with a federal contract - and backed up by city police - forced motorists off Laurel Street and into a private parking lot Friday to question them about their driving habits and ask for a swab of their mouth.
"I feel this incident is a gross abuse of power on many levels," Reading resident Ricardo Nieves, one of those stopped, told City Council Monday.
He said federal and local tax dollars were being used to stop innocent people without probable cause, and allow a private company to hire uniformed police to force citizens to listen to their questions.
He said he wasn't told what the swab was for, but added, "Clearly it was for DNA.
"The checkpoint was among several being carried out in Pennsylvania by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, hired by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.
City Police Chief William M. Heim said the two federal agencies are trying to see what can be done about crashes and injuries, and the swabs were not to get DNA samples but to test for the presence of prescription drugs.
The checkpoint was supposed to be voluntary, but Nieves said he had to refuse several times over a five-minute period before the woman taking the survey let him go.
What irked Nieves was the presence of city police. He said they were there - including a police car with flashing lights - to intimidate motorists, and gave the checkpoint an air of authority it would not otherwise have had.
"A federal survey with local police help violates my rights," Nieves said.Heim said city police were hired for site security only, since the survey takers were paying money for answers and for the swabs.
But he said city police did not pull motorists over, nor ask any questions, and in fact were asked to stay away from the cars.
"A car driver or passenger cannot be required or pressured into providing a DNA sample and, in fact, can't be stopped at all except on suspicion of a crime or for a properly conducted sobriety checkpoint," Mary Catherine Roper, senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Pennsylvania, told the Reading Eagle Monday.
Councilman Dennis M. Sterner was livid that government can't pick up local drug dealers without a two-year investigation, but can stop motorists at random."Our rights are being violated more and more every day," he said. "It's another way of government intrusion into our lives."
http://readingeagle.com/article/20131217/NEWS/312179910&template=mobileart
St. Louis police B/S claim they were tricked into conducting DNA checkpoints:
Some St. Louis-area police and elected officials are questioning the effectiveness and propriety of federal roadside impaired driving checkpoints at which motorists were asked to voluntarily submit blood and saliva samples in exchange for cash. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it conducted the tests as part of a nationwide survey designed to reduce drunken and drugged driving. The tests were conducted over the weekend in St. Charles County and in September in south St. Louis County. St. Charles County Sheriff Tom Neer said Thursday that his department had been “duped” into cooperating with a government subcontractor who paid six of his off-duty, uniformed officers to help at three checkpoints conducted Friday morning, Friday night and Saturday night. While no action was taken against motorists who refused to stop, Neer acknowledged that most motorists would not have thought they had any choice but to pull over when flagged down by one of his uniformed deputies. “We will not cooperate with one of these federal checkpoints again,” Neer said. “And we would not have contracted with the subcontractor on this one if we had known in advance that our officers would be asked to flag down motorists. In essence, we got duped, and shame on me.” (What B/S they're apologizing because they knowingly aided in an illegal checkpoint and FINALLY the public told them to stop. Wake up we're being stripped of our rights)http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/local-officials-decry-feds-voluntary-sobriety-checkpoints/article_c44c9c0c-230c-5d63-8f83-cdaec9d0da01.html
Texas police offer B/S apology for their assistance in DNA roadblock 'survey'
http://massprivatei.blogspot.com/2013/11/police-offer-bs-apology-for-its.html