Men Caught in NYPD Dragnet Say They Feel Targeted, Harassed

22 year old Chanel Lewis has been sentenced to life in prison without parole in the murder of Howard Beach jogger Karina Vetrano..

Men who had swabs collected by the NYPD during an investigation into the killer of a Howard Beach jogger are speaking up about their experiences. 

Following the murder of Karina Vetrano, police launched an intensive investigation. Six months later, 22-year-old Chanel Lewis arrested. He has since been to life in prison without parole. 

But a new report by the New York Daily News shows that during the search, a top police official ordered a mass DNA swabbing campaign of 360 black and Hispanic men who had been arrested at some point near the neighborhood.

Reporter Graham Rayman received a list of 50 men included in the roundup. He says only three had been arrested for violent crimes. 

"In many cases," he said, "[they] had been previously arrested for misdemeanors, driving without a license, lower level things, lower level possession of drugs. And one of them was arrested on a violation, which isn't even a crime."

He spoke with WNYC's Kerry Nolan.