Men Caught in NYPD Dragnet Say They Feel Targeted, Harassed

WNYC News | May 10, 2019

Men who had swabs collected by the NYPD during an investigation into the killer of a Howard Beach jogger are speaking up about their experiences. 

Following the murder of Karina Vetrano, police launched an intensive investigation. Six months later, 22-year-old Chanel Lewis arrested. He has since been to life in prison without parole. 

But a new report by the New York Daily News shows that during the search, a top police official ordered a mass DNA swabbing campaign of 360 black and Hispanic men who had been arrested at some point near the neighborhood.

Reporter Graham Rayman received a list of 50 men included in the roundup. He says only three had been arrested for violent crimes. 

"In many cases," he said, "[they] had been previously arrested for misdemeanors, driving without a license, lower level things, lower level possession of drugs. And one of them was arrested on a violation, which isn't even a crime."

He spoke with WNYC's Kerry Nolan.

 

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