From May to June Omaha Police went to the homes of at least 36 to
40 Black men, between the ages of 20 and 40, and asked for DNA
samples via mouth swabs. Police said the DNA tests were needed to aid
in the investigation of four rapes over the last two years. The
perpetrator was described in over broad terms as "black, 25 to 40 years
old, 5-foot-3 to 5-foot-9 inches tall, stocky with a large stomach and
weighing 175 to 250 pounds. This "dragnet sweep" of Black men enraged
the African American community. Some of the men, such as defense
attorney Bill Gallup's client, who asked to remain anonymous, involuntarily
provided DNA. Gallup's client said he gave a DNA sample even after he'd
been exonerated of the rapes because police handcuffed him and forced
him to. Apparently most of the men targeted for the DNA worked at the
Omaha Public Power Company.
Yesterday the company said it was threatened by police to provide
the men's names. The Omaha Police subpoenaed OPPD asking for the:
"Names, addresses, and pictures of all African American OPPD employees
between the age of 18 and 40". OPPD attorney Steve Bruckner claimed
OPPD challenged the subpoena for two months, saying law enforcement had
no right to employee records. He said the Omaha police threatened to
get a search warrant. The Omaha Police served a search warrant on the
Company identifying 84 male employees. This search warrant was under
seal, unavailable to the public until yesterday. A judge said Thursday
that the order and affidavits that led to the order Omaha police used
to collect DNA samples should be unsealed.
State Sen. Ernie Chamber accuses OPPD of selling out its employees to
police investigators. He contends that OPPD eagerly complied with
police and "ratted out" African American employees. "They didn't
procure that information pursuant to a search warrant. OPPD gave
it to them," Chambers said on the tape. To bolster his argument,
Chambers has produced an audiotape of an interview he made with two
lawyers for the power district. On the tape, company attorney Steve
Bruckner agrees to disclose how Omaha police got a list of OPPD
employees that might fit the description of a serial rapist wanted in
Omaha. Bruckner said it started with the subpoena on April 20.
"Everything had kind of broken loose," Bruckner said on the tape.
"And they're just climbing all over OPPD over, 'Why haven't you
produced those records?'" Bruckner said police threatened to get a
search warrant:
"We're gonna come into your HR department and we're gonna start
grabbing files and hard drives," Bruckner said, recounting the
conversation with police.
Bruckner admits that OPPD handed over the list of employees without seeing an affidavit that backed up the search warrant.
"Did OPPD ever think about resisting the search warrant?" Chambers asked on the tape.
"OPPD's view really was, we had no choice but to comply. So the
decision was made we had no choice," Bruckner responded. "Did OPPD ever
think about resisting the search warrant?" Chambers asked on the tape.
Bruckner took issue with Chambers' view. "We don't want you rooting
around these records because that, in our judgment, was -- we're
exposing a whole lot more than what they're asking. This was not
in any way voluntarily," Bruckner said. "Would it have been better in
your opinion to allow the police to seize all the employee records?"
Chambers responded, "Yes. It would've showed them how wrong they
were and you'd of had cops fired and judges' heads rolling. And
then this would've been brought out into the public for what it was."
Again Bruckner said that in the heat of the moment, the company chose
the lesser of two evils and prevented disruption. [more 
] and [more ] and [more ]
- Police Chief Won't Apologize For DNA Tests [more ]
- Man Says He Was Targeted Because Of Race [more ]
- Rounding Up Black Men in Omaha Dragnet DNA Sweep [more ]
]