Swab Testing for Black Men in Va. Town

[reddawn18]

In one Va. town, the police are "requesting" for black men to take DNA tests to find a rapist. They have already tested 690 men still with no clue who the rapist is. Ladies and gents, this is the newest version of Racial Profiling.


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...&e=29&ncid=519

[1savvydiva]

Wow.

One woman in the audience asked if the police would conduct widespread testing of white men if the rapist were white.


"Absolutely," Longo said, adding that he'd do the same if a criminal suspect were Asian or a woman. "I will do them all."

Yeah uh huh...

[reddawn18]

I wonder if the local civil rights group will bring them up on charges?

[Steeltrap]

Originally posted by reddawn18
I wonder if the local civil rights group will bring them up on charges?

I'd look for claims agains the city, and of course, the insurance carrier will pay out.

[reddawn18]

10 men didn't do it including a graduate student.

Good for them for standing up!

[treblk]

That is crazy! Yea let me see him test women!

[reddawn18]

Originally posted by treblk
That is crazy! Yea let me see him test women!

I can see it now, "You raped me" the man says. "How can you prove it? I have no semen to test!"

LOL

[rho4life]

Where is the ACLU when you need them. I know some people will argue that "if you're not guilty you shouldn't mind". But I don't want any more people people coming in contact with the criminal justice system than is necessary. Sure, they say they're just doing a swab, but will the dna samples be held for later use? I'm amazed that only ten men refused.

*changing into protesting shoes*


Let's protest y'all. Someone grab some magic markers and posterboard!!!!!!

[reddawn18]

Originally posted by rho4life
Where is the ACLU when you need them. I know some people will argue that "if you're not guilty you shouldn't mind". But I don't want any more people people coming in contact with the criminal justice system than is necessary. Sure, they say they're just doing a swab, but will the dna samples be held for later use? I'm amazed that only ten men refused.

*changing into protesting shoes*


Let's protest y'all. Someone grab some magic markers and posterboard!!!!!!

Agreed

[IntuitiveChick]

Okay, as you guys can all read, UVA is my home of homes (I'm graddiatin' with my masters from UPenn but soooo don't claim it) so again, I want to give ups to UVA for supporting students to do forums and challenge the city.

Outside of that, I'm writing the city officials....that's triflin and plus now they have dna samples from 700 odd black men...you think they threw those away...I assure you not.

Dang....

[reddawn18]

Please post an address so that we can also write the city officials of this injustice!

[IntuitiveChick]

Here's where to file a complaint:

Charlottesville Police Department
Internal Affairs Unit
606 East Market Street
Charlottesville, VA 22902

Here's the website:

http://www.charlottesville.org/defau...7-21FFE00A92EB

You know I'm about to ask my neos if they've had some type of voice against this--this is tooo much.

This has huge implications and can be used so distructively!

Thanks for supporting!

[reddawn18]

Thanks alot. I will be writing them today!

[reddawn18]

April 23, 2004

Charlottesville Police Department
Internal Affairs Unit
606 East Market Street
Charlottesville, VA 22902

Dear City Officials of Charlottesville, Virginia,

I am writing in response to your police department’s current actions of enforcing DNA testing of over 700 African American men.

As an African American woman, I feel you are enacting on a new form of racial profiling which could be compared to “driving while being black” that have plagued the New York/New Jersey Area for last several years. Such actions infringe on the basic rights that our government enforces. As a governmental agency, you are stepping a ground that you don’t want to tread within the African American community. This action upon African American males is not only constitutionally illegal but retorts the accomplishments of the last 50 years of the Civil Right Movement.

Your actions are not only unethical it’s also inhumane. You have resulted in treating African American men as if they were cattle or, to give a better example, as if they were slaves that you are searching for in your own DNA lynching party. This “search” must stop for it will be used in your parts of your country as basis to go back to pre-Civil War ideals that African Americans like Sojourner Truth, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mary McLeod Bethune fought so hard against.

Please ask yourself this one question, if the suspect that you are looking for was classified as being part of any other race than African American would you go to this step? You may say yes but within the ranks of the African American community the answer would be undeniably no.

I bereave you to please reconsider such an action. Not only for the sake of the African American Community but also for the sanity of both Charlottesville and the state of Virginia.


Sincerely,


Kaisha M. Harris
_____

Please write and tell of your opinion to this situation.

[IntuitiveChick]

Sorry so late,

Just finished my last paper, (Grad-diatin' in two weeks) and I swear programs don't care that you're not an undergraduate and can't stay up past 12 anymore!

I think your letter was wonderful. The last I heard, they halted testing. My letter addresses the fact that they haven't destroyed (or talked about destroying) the "unguilty" dna.

Again, your letter was wonderful!

IC