Aggregated News
The St. Louis Police Officers' Association filed a grievance today saying the department's collection of DNA from police officers is a violation of Fourth Amendment rights and the officers' contract.
The association also is planning to file a restraining order asking the department to stop collecting DNA and destroy the samples it's already collected until a policy is written on the matter.
"This is a shockingly alarming practice," said Jeff Roorda, the association's business manager, who spoke to reporters in front of police headquarters moments after filing the paperwork.
Police Chief Dan Isom told the Post-Dispatch in an interview last week that the department has been collecting voluntary DNA samples from officers for years to eliminate them from crime scene samples.
In recent months, the department has increased its efforts to collect DNA, saying that as technology advances, the chances of crime scene contamination increases as well.
Eliminating otherwise unknown DNA found at crime scenes by matching it to an an officer's DNA on file can help bolster prosecutions, the chief said.
Roorda said the association's membership isn't necessarily opposed...
The association also is planning to file a restraining order asking the department to stop collecting DNA and destroy the samples it's already collected until a policy is written on the matter.
"This is a shockingly alarming practice," said Jeff Roorda, the association's business manager, who spoke to reporters in front of police headquarters moments after filing the paperwork.
Police Chief Dan Isom told the Post-Dispatch in an interview last week that the department has been collecting voluntary DNA samples from officers for years to eliminate them from crime scene samples.
In recent months, the department has increased its efforts to collect DNA, saying that as technology advances, the chances of crime scene contamination increases as well.
Eliminating otherwise unknown DNA found at crime scenes by matching it to an an officer's DNA on file can help bolster prosecutions, the chief said.
Roorda said the association's membership isn't necessarily opposed...