New York, NY —

The New York Civil Liberties Union has followed through on its threat to sue the city over its policy of random bag searches on the subway. Five local men have joined the suit as plaintiffs.

REPORTER: Three of the men reached out to the NYCLU after they were stopped by police at subway stations. A fourth, Joseph Gehring, is the son of a retired police captain. He actually changed his route to avoid a checkpoint at Times Square.

GEHRING: Every time I see a police officer on the subway I am fearful that he or she is going to walk up to me and demand to look in my bag.

REPORTER: The fifth plaintiff is a first generation Indian immigrant. He joined the suit because he's concerned that immigrants might be targeted.

The NYPD insists its searches are random -- and avoid profiling by using a numerical formula. An NYCLU attorney says searching so many people who aren't doing anything suspicious is unconstitutional. But he said searches based on suspicious behavior -- not appearance -- would be reasonable.