Police set up roadblocks to 'voluntarily' collect DNA, blood samples from innocent Americans

[L0oniX]

When a group of uniformed men wearing guns sets up a road block then ask you to "volunteer" a DNA sample and blood sample, it stretches the definition of "volunteer." But that's what happened in Alabama yesterday as off-duty cops in two counties set up DNA collection roadblocks and stopped cars to ask if drivers wanted to "volunteer" DNA swabs and blood samples.

It was all part of a study being conducted by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, which is probably studying what percentage of the sheeple population will allow the government to swipe their DNA and archive it in a database for a measly ten bucks.

more at link
http://www.pdacommunity.org/alabama/3147-police-set-up-roadblocks-to-voluntarily-collect-dna-blood-samples-from-innocent-americans

Just one county in Alabama had set up five roadblocks in one day, and more are being rolled out nationwide. The explanation behind all this is that it's for a "medical study" to see how much alcohol drivers have in their blood.

- "why not have scientists in lab coats stopping cars to collect blood?" It's all the same thing now ain't it ...cops/scientists/medical professionals? I didn't even think about this ...that cops could do DNA swabs at the usual Friday night check point. WTF ...repeat WTF ...repeat WTF ...repeat WTF ...repeat WTF ...repeat WTF

[clarice]

1. This CAN'T be real.....maybe...

they are trying to match human DNA to the DNA left in their sheep?

[L0oniX]

2. LMFAO

[clarice]

4. Thanks, I know that was baaaaaaad. nt

[NYC_SKP]

3. Misleading, but still disturbing. This is voluntary, it's research, looking at blood alcohol levels

Off duty cops were employed, and people were paid to provide samples.

The research group: http://www.pire.org/newsreleases.asp?cms=114

The source, Natural News, used to be a forbidden source on DU: http://www.naturalnews.com/038512_2013_predictions_insanity.html

[L0oniX]

5. The idea is that you can be compelled to take a breathalizer test without being arrested...

so could you also be swabbed without being arrested?

Didn't know about Naturalnews. I went with it because it is posted on PDA.

[NYC_SKP]

6. You can refuse to take a breathalizer test. And then you'll lose your license.

Because driving is a privilege, not a right.

At least, ostensibly, probable cause needs to exist for officers to ask, but in practice it's your word against theirs.

And, AFAIK, even probable cause is tossed with random roadside sobriety testing.

So the DNA thing can't be far off.

[Sirveri]

24. Driving is a right.

The constitution constrains the government, it does not enumerate my rights.

I also have the right to not consent to search and seizure via the 4th Amendment, and I have the right to not speak to the police via the 5th. The government can not demand I give up those rights to engage in a common every day activity.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

37. driving is absolutely NOT a right

where the hell did you get that?

sP

[L0oniX]

44. From a box of Cracker Jack ..where most people get their drivers license.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

46. well, in that case

maybe it is a right...

sP

[Sirveri]

49. I explained where I got it, you have not supported your position.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

67. no... you didn't

driving is not a right... hell, they TEST you to see if you should be allowed to drive... your idea of what is a right and what is a privilege is completely screwed up. there IS freedom of movement in the Constitution... but not driving.

some people...

sP

[Sirveri]

69. everything is a right, privilege is something that is granted.

Nobody grants me the right to drive, I am licensed to see if I am competent to trust on the public roads, but if I'm in an empty field on my own property I can drive around all day long. So I clearly have the right to drive.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

70. your own words indicate you have no idea what is a RIGHT...

this crap about 'my own property' is NOT what you were talking about previously (since this whole thread is about roadblocks) and is just an attempt to cover your ass.

you're wrong... and you know it... you just cannot figure out how to admit it. don't worry, everyone else knows you're wrong so you won't have to.

sP

quick hint for you : a right is something you can exercise OFF of your own property.

[Sirveri]

71. Your own words indicate you have zero clue where rights come from in this country.

The problem is people like you who seem to think that the government gives us our rights. Don't worry, when the corporations throw back the curtain and announce their total control I'm sure they'll appreciate you bending over and taking it simply because they don't give you the privilege to do common every day activities.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

74. oh, I know well WHERE rights come from...

the difference between you and I is that I know what a right IS... the rest of your comments are just laughable.

sP

[Sirveri]

75. I'm done getting trolled by you.

Go get your kicks from someone else.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

76. schooled... schooled is the word you're looking for n/t

[dairydog91]

57. It should be.

It's a basic necessity of life. People with access to good public transportation services could afford to do without a car, and people with the money to fly a private helicopter wouldn't need a car either, but most people quite literally need to be able to drive in order to carry out basic life activities. The Constitution definitely needs an update to reflect modern life.

[truebluegreen]

58. Probably from Natural News, which is a hack whackadoodle site.

[L0oniX]

63. While the "pic" may be from NN there are plenty of backup links in this thread as well as more than

enough other links in the PDA article.

http://www.digtriad.com/news/article/287919/1/Drivers-Paid-For-Their-DNA-Swab-Sample-at-Checkpoint-In-Alabama

Here's one of the original examples of this type of operation: http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_6922089

[Ilsa]

55. Driving a motor vehicle is a privilege

extended by the state via licensing, it is not a right. You have the right to bike, take public transportation, walk, etc.

[Sirveri]

59. You appear to think that rights derive from the government.

That's false, the government is restricted from encroaching on OUR rights. The government does not have the right to regulate a common activity in such a way that a person surrenders their other rights. For instance, they can't require that we forgo our 4th Amendment protections simply because we leave the house (though they're certainly trying to do so in NYC).

Do not mistake my issues with the popular conception of driving as being against licensing, I'm not. What I'm against is odious requirements that compel the average citizen to give up their protected rights while performing a common task.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

68. good luck with that position regarding DRIVING AS A RIGHT

in any court in the land... you just don't get it. it is really kind of comical what some people think is a right...

sP

[LuvNewcastle]

8. Soon they'll be doing a swab inside your cheek

and take DNA every time someone is arrested. It will be as common as fingerprinting.

[L0oniX]

9. This has the potencial to ok a test without arrest.

[dixiegrrrrl]

14. You CAN be swabbed even if no charges are brought.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday upheld the use of DNA databases to
collect genetic information from suspects arrested but not yet charged,
without any requirement that officers first show probable cause. The 5-4 ruling overrules a state court determination that Maryland’s DNA collection law permits unconstitutionally invasive searches.

In the short term, the ruling means that law enforcement officials can collect DNA from anyone accused of a violent crime or burglary and upholds existing DNA collection laws in about 28 states. This DNA stays in a database and can serve as the basis for later accusing people of other, unrelated crimes. As the Maryland Supreme Court pointed out in their ruling, only 16 percent of people arrested for some felonies are eventually convicted, and more than one in four people charged with crimes that are much easier to prosecute are not convicted. This means widespread DNA testing ensnares a whole lot of innocent people. But even those who believe they could never be suspected of a violent crime may not be insulated from testing. Justice Antonin Scalia warns in a dissent joined by three of the court’s more liberal justices that the court’s reasoning would apply equally to someone accused of any crime or violation at all:

When there comes before us the taking of DNA from an arrestee for a traffic violation, the Court will predictably (and quite rightly) say, ‘We can find no significant difference between this case and King.’ Make no mistake about it:
As an entirely predictable consequence of today’s decision, your DNA can be taken and entered into a national DNA database if you are ever arrested, rightly or wrongly, and for whatever reason.

Story date is 11 days ago....

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/06/03/2091741/the-police-can-now-access-your-dna-without-a-warrant-even-when-you-cant-access-it-at-all/?mobile=

Notice you can be arrested but not charged...so cops can grab you, put you under arrest, swab you, then not charge you, and let you go.Even for littering, failing to signal a turn, any reason they can think of.

[L0oniX]

15. People are compelled to take a breathalyser test without being arrested...

and that could be expanded to a DNA test as well ...although results will not be immediate. It's the ol what have you got to hide mentality. Will they take your papers if you refuse a DNA test? Alcohol check points are indiscriminate.

[sulphurdunn]

23. Yes, but

the breathalyser at least requires the pretense of probable cause. Also, the cops aren't likely to administer the breathalyzer unless they're pretty sure you're tanked and they plan to arrest you.

[L0oniX]

26. The breathalyser test will contain your DNA when you blow a .07 or anything below the legal limit.

Yea you could have had 1 beer and a cop may smell it and give you the test. You won't be arrested but that mouth piece that you put your lips on will have your DNA. Trust them that it will be thrown away. Yeah right.

[sulphurdunn]

27. I hadn't thought of that.

You are correct.

[NYC_SKP]

62. Having a bad day, are we?

Cheer up, it'll be OK.

[L0oniX]

65. LOL

[Vinnie From Indy]

7. The test probably has nothing to do with DNA

but rather to study the general populations response to the roadblocks and intrusive police requests. A social study of acquiescence is much more likely the reason for these roadblocks.

Cheers!

[Myrina]

19. Thats frightening in itself, given the state of things

[L0oniX]

28. It ain't like a cop who wants to test you will be serving tea and donuts. They will have the usual

intimidating stance ...like what have you got to hide ...if you don't volunteer for a DNA sample.

[JimDandy]

38. Then using a reward makes it a flawed

study, IMO, because a reward isn't the normal acquiescence mechanism used in a police roadblock--fear is--and police roadblocks are never voluntary, they are compulsory.

[Newsjock]

10. Here's a CBS News link for this story

http://www.digtriad.com/news/article/287919/1/Drivers-Paid-For-Their-DNA-Swab-Sample-at-Checkpoint-In-Alabama

Pell City, AL-- Checkpoints or roadblocks are nothing unsual or new by law enforcement across the country. However, stopping at one and being offered money is not what you expect.

Authorities say drivers in St. Clair and Bibb counties were stopped at roadblocks in the area and were asked to give DNA and blood samples as part of a study.

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. Thanks - we can't take anything Natural News says as true; they are RW loonies

It's still unclear exactly what was set up - did cars have to pull over, before the suggestion was made, or was it, as the guy in the Daily Caller article says, "big signs up that says ‘paid volunteer survey’ and if they want to participate they pull over there".

What seems strange is that the article talks about a DNA sample, but says it's about "how many people were driving with alcohol or prescription drugs in their systems". Which DNA would tell you nothing about.

[L0oniX]

13. I think the idea is that if you can be compelled to take a Breathalyzer test with out an arrest...

then you might also get a DNA without an arrest.

[muriel_volestrangler]

16. But we know no-one was compelled to do any test

All the articles admit that. It's just a question of whether they were compelled to stop. You'd think not, since these were off-duty police and firefighters - which I would hope mean they weren't in uniform, and wouldn't be able to compel people to stop. If they did, then that would be the issue.

[L0oniX]

17. IMO ...it's a matter of what this sort of thing could lead to.

Ask yourself why they are even conducting this test.

[JimDandy]

39. Exactly. A run-through trial of the

awesome powers handed them by the SCOTUS.

[JoeyT]

73. "Roadblock" is the key word.

When they do one, they have police cars at the edges of the road with several cops in the middle. Stopping is compulsory because running police over is frowned upon. If more than two lanes exist, they use cruisers to throttle traffic down to one lane in each direction.

The police said many people didn't want to do it, which means they were stopping everyone. No one would've stopped without the flashing blue lights and uniforms.

[muriel_volestrangler]

77. That's why I'd like a description of what they actually did, in this case

Were there flashing blue lights? Were there uniforms (police AND firefighters, or were the firefighters dressed in their civilian clothes)? Did they truly block the road? "The police said many people didn't want to do it" - but that doesn't necessarily mean "they were stopping everyone" - if people were able to drive past, then they would be the people who didn't want to do it.

[Zorra]

12. I suspect a Darwin Award or two may come out of this. nt

[reformist2]

18. A *very* unsavory mix of intimidation and abuse of power, imo.

I don't like being pulled over, ever. I would not appreciate it at all, to be solicited by an "off duty" cop for a "voluntary" DNA sample.

[woo me with science]

20. "Candid Camera" illustrated the passivity of "the sheeple" for decades.

I was pleased to see Alan Funt's son, heir to the show, make this political point about TSA groping and naked scanning a while back. It would apply here, too:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704496104575627280155938098.html

(For the TV show, Candid Camera) "With the help and encouragement of airport officials, I posed as a security guard. As passengers entered the boarding area, I examined them and their carry-on bags. I claimed that the metal detector wasn't working properly, and instructed passengers to lie down on the conveyor belt so they could ride through the X-ray machine along with their bags...The "X-ray machine" was a flimsy prop made from a large wooden box with holes cut in each end, placed over a rented conveyor belt. We attached a few blinking lights to the box, along with our version of the classic airport sign: "Everything Said Will be Taken Seriously."

We put 15 passengers through the wooden box that day—too few to be scientific, but instructive nonetheless. All but one passenger, a middle-aged man, willingly laid on the conveyor belt, belly down, and was transported through the box without protest.
....
One of the recurrent themes on "Candid Camera" has involved examining many people's mindless obedience in the face of unreasonable demands by authority"...a uniformed guard who says the state of Delaware is "closed for the day," or a cop who tells pedestrians they've entered a "walk backwards zone." Yet I've got a library of footage showing that the public willingly accepts such instruction, time and time again...
....
I'm glad to see that many travelers are no longer simply submitting blindly to airport scanners, and are questioning invasive pat-downs. That's actually something worth smiling about."

[zeeland]

21. What about minors?

Who is paying the cops, the lab or the department?

So many questions, so few answers.

If all else fails, I hope for at least one more Obama
appointee to the Supreme Court. And no surprises,
I really couldn't take it.

[ruffburr]

22. Welcome to-

The Leveraged States of Corprica, Not to worry, If you are worth more than 100 million you need not comply/volunteer, If anyone doubts that we are as of this SCOTUS decision a fascist country think again, The "Relocation / Re-Education Camps" will be opening soon with free showers, And Free medical (experimentation)Just as grampy Prescott Bush And his cohorts dreamed, Republican = Fascists, Blu dog Dems= Fascist lite, So Get Ready To Salute with a hearty " Hiel-Gommert" or die. WHATTA BAG OF ASSHOLES

[Snarkoleptic]

25. Roadblocks are objectinable when done by the authorities, let alone

some little known research outfit.

A roadblock with uniformed and armed off duty cops? WTF?

[markiv]

29. Could they do this, if there hadnt been DUI checkpoints first?

to soften up the public for such a thing?

the first part of the slope, must always be slippery, for the toboggon to slide

[L0oniX]

31. Wait till they make it mandatory a DNA sample from that next flue shot you get.

[woo me with science]

33. +1

[sulphurdunn]

30. You might make a case

for US intervention if Syria was an ally whose security was backed by treaty obligations. It isn't. But then, those who want to intervene make their money off of selling war, not building schools.

[L0oniX]

32. HOLY ...I POSTED IN THE WRONG THREAD ...BATMAN!

[sulphurdunn]

48. Naw. It was me. Sorry

[AnotherMcIntosh]

34. If they really want to find out who the sheep are, they can stop traffic and give TSA-type feel ups.

Some people would go along with that.

[L0oniX]

36. Let have all 330,000,000 of us body cavity searched too. Jobs jobs jobs.

[Dawson Leery]

35. PIGS being PIGS.

[Snarkoleptic]

40. I just found a DU thread where this organization pulled a similar stunt in 2007.

http://sync.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x309036

Who the fuck are these folks, how do they gain authority to do this shit, and who funds it?

[L0oniX]

41. Wow DU2 ...and yea who is behind this indeed.

[Snarkoleptic]

47. I see the DU2 thread linked to worldnutdaily, so I've found a better link with details.

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_6922089

[Progressive dog]

56. That story from 6 years ago said they did it every 10 years

This Pacific thing does have a website, but I saw no real information on what they are doing now, and nothing about DNA samples.
This kind of thing is not right, it's worse than door to door salesmen who won't leave. If you're in your car, you are going somewhere.
If this is about drinking while driving, they could use the data from those roadblocks. If it's not (DNA?) what is going on?

[AnotherMcIntosh]

42. Has anyone informed Mayor I've-got-my-own-army Bloomberg? He could get behind this.

[L0oniX]

43. His army may be too busy snapping pictures of all the topless women flooding the streets of NY.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/16/nyregion/a-police-roll-call-reminder-women-may-go-topless.html?_r=0

[AnotherMcIntosh]

45. 34,000 NY cops, all ready to violate civil rights.

[Coyotl]

50. DNA testing for alcohol blood levels. I don't think so!

[L0oniX]

51. No one is DNA testing for alcohol. Ever blow into a breathalizer? Where do your lips go?

If you are under .08 you don't get arrested ...but your DNA is there.

[Brigid]

52. Can you say "trial balloon?"

If this story is reliable, it's pretty clear what is going on here. It's one of two things: Either this is a sociological study to see how compliant people will be, or it's the first step in trying to soften us up and make this sort of intrusive search seem "normal."

[L0oniX]

53. So a 250 lb cop approches you in your car and asks you to volunteer for a swab. You say no.

You are now a suspect. "What are you trying to hide?" "Maybe we should take you in for 48 hours and check you out." How many people would be intimidated enough to just say ...ok?

[Brigid]

54. It's hard to say how I'd react.

I would hope I'd be gutsy enough to tell the cop to fuck off, and tell him that he is looking at a lawsuit for false arrest if he insists on taking me in. But who knows? I do think that many people would be intimidated into complying.

[duuser5822]

64. Yet another reason not to trust the police in this country

Bunch of corrupt, fascistic pigs. Hope this backfires in a big way.

[DeSwiss]

66. K&R

[davidn3600]

72. This country is getting scary....

[Fire Walk With Me]

78. "Let's see what we can get away with. Whatever they don't fight, stays forever."