NEW YORK — As subway riders poured into Pennsylvania Station, a police officer stopped Ahmed Mohammed and asked him to open his backpack. The Pakistani-born engineer, who was visiting New York with his family, shrugged and agreed to the search.
He looked embarrassed as the officer quickly examined its contents -- T-shirts and presents purchased at Macy's -- and waved him through the turnstile. Heading for the rush-hour train, Mohammed was angry.
"We all want to feel safe after what happened in London," the 29-year-old tourist said last week. "And police have to do their job. But they picked me out of the crowd just because of the way I look. Not because of anything I have done."
When police began screening subway riders two weeks ago, many New Yorkers accepted it as necessary. During the first few days, hundreds of commuters came up to officers and opened their bags for inspection, prompting reminders from top brass that the searches had to be done randomly.
Law enforcement has stressed that the policy is not targeting any particular group. But passenger complaints such as Mohammed's are becoming more frequent, and critics more vocal.
Some call the searches an unacceptable intrusion into personal freedom. Others believe the police should be allowed to openly focus on Muslim commuters.
"It may take you a little longer to get where you're going," said New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who announced the program July 21, hours after the attempted subway bombings in London. "But we're going to make sure you get there safely."
Acknowledging that the searches would be intrusive, Bloomberg said: "We live in a world, sadly, where these kinds of security measures are necessary."
New York, home to the nation's largest mass-transit system, is the only big city to adopt such a program. Teams of officers set up tables in front of subway turnstiles, near signs announcing that backpacks are subject to inspection.
If riders do not wish to be searched, they are free to leave the station.
Guidelines call for police to search the bags of every 10th person getting onto the subway; the officers are legally barred from singling out people based on race, religion or ethnicity.
Thousands of people have been screened, and there have been no arrests. The program will continue indefinitely, said Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.
