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Charlottesville Police Rounding Up Blacks & Taking DNA

A judge on Monday rejected a lawsuit stemming from a controversial Charlottesville police practice of taking DNA samples from black men to rule them out as the areas serial rapist. A city man, Larry Monroe, claimed he was harassed during the search and sought $15,000 from police Detective James Mooney. At issue was whether Monroe consented to Mooney's taking a swab of his saliva in March. Monroe testified that his cousin woke him, saying Mooney, an acquaintance, wanted to talk to him. He met the detective downstairs, where Mooney requested a DNA sample. Monroe said he never asked if he could refuse. Deborah C. Wyatt, Monroe's attorney, said her client did not want to give the sample, never signed a consent form and that the fact that he yielded does not make it consensual. Monroe testified that he felt like he had no choice but to give a sample. I was scared, he said. It's messed up, I don't even fit the description. Wyatt contended that the only reason her client was approached is because he is black, which is not sufficient to justify an approach. Victim descriptions of the rapist have varied widely, from a man roughly 6 feet tall with an athletic build to one having the heft a football player, Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy J. Longo testified. The only characteristic they all agree on is color. City police initially cast their net wide in seeking saliva samples, requesting DNA from scores of black males. After a public outcry about the practice, they vowed to adhere to stricter guidelines when deciding whom to approach.[more] and [more]