Charlottesville police halt DNA tests
By Angela Manese-Lee | April 16, 2004In response to community criticism about the Charlottesville Police Department's months-long procedure of asking certain black men to voluntarily provide DNA samples in their search for the serial rapist, Police Chief Timothy Longo has temporarily stopped the practice. Calling it a "common sense decision," Longo said that due to the level of concern raised in Monday's Clark Hall community meeting, the police department stepped back to "re-engineer the process." "We decided to step back to look at our process to consider issues raised by the community and reach a common ground that is respectful of community values, but at the same time, allows us to continue our investigation," he said. Although the department has had the ability to use the DNA sampling procedure -- called the "buccal swab" -- since April 2001, the serial rapist case was the first chosen to include it. According to Longo, police have not acquired a buccal swab since Monday night. In a private meeting tomorrow, Longo will present specific future plans and changes for investigation procedure to a handful of community representatives. African-American Affairs Dean M.
