Federal Contractors Set Up Roadblocks in 30 U.S. Cities To Harvest DNA Samples

Federal Contractors Set Up Roadblocks in 30 U.S. Cities To Harvest DNA Samples

Posted By: RumorMail [Send E-Mail]
Date: Wednesday, 27-Nov-2013 00:51:06

I heard talk about this on radio days ago.. they 'forced' cars off road into a parking lot, wanted mouth swabs, blood samples.. told drivers get paid $ for the samples and acted like it was voluntary. I remember one girl said she only did the breathilizer test just so she could get away! http://www.policestateusa.com/2013/federal-contractors-nhtsa-dna-roadblocks/ Federal contractors have been setting up roadblocks in cities across the country with the purpose of collecting DNA samples from passing motorists. The multi-million dollar federal program has been disturbing drivers and alarming civil libertarians. The checkpoints consist of uniformed agents blocking a public road and flagging drivers into a testing area or a parking lot. There, the drivers are requested to submit a saliva or blood sample to the federal government. The roadblocks were part of a study orchestrated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The agency contracted the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, based in Calverton, MD, to perform the roadblocks. The program costs taxpayers $7.9 million over 3 years, according to NBC News Dallas-Fort Worth. The agency confirmed that the operation is currently being launched in 30 different U.S. cities. Drivers are offered cash for surrendering DNA samples. The going rate is $10 for a cheek-swab and $50 for blood drawn from the vein. The goal, according to the NHTSA, is to decrease impaired-driving accidents by analyzing raw bodily fluids fresh off the street. “They want to find out of all the people surveyed, how many people were driving with alcohol in their system, or prescription drugs, things like that,” said Lt. Freddie Turrentine of the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department, in Pell City, Alabama. Voluntary or not? The NHTSA says that the samples are “voluntary,” but drivers have had varying experiences. “How voluntary is it when you have a police officer in uniform flagging you down?” Kim Cope, of North Fort Worth, Texas, said that the checkpoint she experienced was not voluntary at all. She was forced off the road into a parking lot on November 15th and pressured into submitting to a breathalyzer. Cope was on her lunch break when she was forced into the checkpoint. ”I gestured to the guy in front that I just wanted to go straight, but he wouldn’t let me and forced me into a parking spot,” she said to NBC Dallas-Fort Worth. “They were asking for cheek swabs. They would give $10 for that. Also, if you let them take your blood, they would pay you $50 for that.” But Cope was not interested in getting paid. “I finally did the Breathalyzer test just because I thought that would be the easiest way to leave.” “How voluntary is it when you have a police officer in uniform flagging you down?” asked Susan Watson, executive director of the Alabama chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. “Are you going to stop? Yes, you’re going to stop.” “Although this was voluntary it was not voluntary that you stop and hear the DNA for CASH pitch,” said Alabama resident ‘J. Bosey‘ after experiencing a checkpoint in June. http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?read=292971