The New York Police Department has come under fire for refusing to disclose the purpose of its fleet of X-Ray scanner trucks. Last week, The New York Civil Liberties Union filed a motion that will require the department to disclose information regarding these vehicles and their activities.
"People should be informed if military grade x-ray vans are damaging their health with radiation or peering inside their homes or cars," said NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman in a statement. "New Yorkers have a right to protect their health, welfare and privacy."
According to the report - the vans, which have been used to search for bombs in Afghanistan, are still a mystery to many New Yorkers.
'The NYPD has largely refused to disclose anything about how it uses x-ray vans on the streets of New York.' Says the NYCLU. 'The department denied a Freedom of Information Law request by an investigative journalist at ProPublica asking for records revealing the vans' public health risks, the NYPD's prior use of the vans, whether the department gets a warrant before it uses them or how long the NYPD holds on to images the vans capture.'
These hi-tech scanners aren't cheap either, costing around $729,000 - $825,000 per unit. The NYCLU wants to know how many tax dollars this mystery fleet is sucking up each year.
The NYPD has remained steadfast in their efforts to keep all information a secret. Police Comissioner Bill Bratton told the New York Post last week:
"They're not used to scan people for weapons. The devices we have, the vehicles if you will, are all used lawfully and if the ACLU and others don't think that's the case, we'll see them in court - where they'll lose! At this time and the nature of what's going on in the world, that concern of theirs is unfounded."
