One to 165 Million Odds

Jangir Sultan claims in a federal lawsuit that he has been stopped 21 times by the New York Police Department for “random” checks in the New York City subways.

Sultan, who is suing for racial discrimination, says the odds of him being selected randomly for that many searches are 1 to 165 million.

“It was embarrassing. Did I look like someone who would blow something up? Getting all this attention from the NYPD was a little intimidating,”

NYPD officials insist the subway checking program is random, targeting every fifth or tenth rider starting at random. However, human rights activists claim that nearly 80 percent of all people checked under the program are minorities.