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Debate on collecting abandoned property after consent denial
1:03:46
ยท
103 sec
Council Member Diana I. Ayala questions NYPD officials about the practice of collecting abandoned property for DNA samples after consent has been denied. NYPD officials explain their policy and legal stance on this issue, emphasizing that such collection should not occur after explicit denial of consent.
- Ayala asks if NYPD would collect abandoned property after consent denial
- NYPD officials state that this should not happen and would not be legally valid
- The discussion reveals that NYPD policy does not explicitly address this scenario
- Officials emphasize that abandonment samples are inappropriate after consent denial
Diana I. Ayala
1:03:46
Okay.
1:03:46
So now let me switch it a little bit.
1:03:48
So the parent comes in, the parent says no, I'm not consenting.
1:03:52
The child says no, I'm not consenting, would you still collect the abandoned property of that person?
Michael Gerber
1:03:59
So so the the answer to that is that should not be happening.
1:04:03
It
Talia Kamran
1:04:03
should That's not an answer though.
Yusef Salaam
1:04:04
No.
1:04:04
No.
Michael Gerber
1:04:04
Or no?
1:04:05
But but I think it is an answer.
1:04:07
I'm saying this, the reality is in a in a scenario in which our policy does not speak to that that's why I wanna answer your question honestly and accurately.
1:04:17
Does our policy directly speak to that scenario?
1:04:20
No.
1:04:20
It does not.
1:04:21
But I'm telling you, right, in a situation in which someone has affirmatively said, I am not giving consent, an abandonment sample is not going to work.
1:04:32
It is not going to work.
1:04:33
If we have gone the consent route and that has failed, then taking an abandonment sample is not is not going to work.
1:04:40
Given that someone has affirmatively said, I do not want my DNA taken.
1:04:44
Right?
1:04:45
An abandonment sample is not going to work in that situation.
Diana I. Ayala
1:04:48
But you can't guarantee that it that that doesn't happen?
Michael Gerber
1:04:51
Well, what what I'm telling you is that from from a legal perspective and from the department's perspective, an abandonment sample is inappropriate in that situation.
1:04:59
Can I can I speak to whether that has ever happened in the history of time?
1:05:02
No.
1:05:03
No.
1:05:03
I I can't speak to that.
1:05:05
What I am telling you though is what is the department's position on that issue?
1:05:09
And the department's position is in a situation in which consent was requested and consent was denied to then after that seek to take an abandonment sample from that person, that that that abandonment sample is not going to be legally it's it's not gonna work legally when someone has affirmatively said no, and and that should not be happening.