Magistrate rejects 4 Indiana officer's countersuit bid

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) - A federal magistrate has rejected a bid by four Fort Wayne police officers to countersue a woman who accuses them of racial profiling and excessive force.

Keiona Harrison's federal lawsuit alleges that the officers grabbed her, threw her over a car, handcuffed and later cavity-searched her in May 2017 after she noticed her cousin under arrest outside a pharmacy.

Harrison, who's an Allen County probation officer, contends the officers violated her constitutional rights.

The officers filed paperwork in April requesting to file a counterclaim arguing that Harrison slandered and defamed them in her lawsuit.

But The Journal Gazette reports a federal magistrate recently denied their request. He found they had missed a February deadline to amend claims filed with the court, and didn't provide sufficient reasons to change the deadline.

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Information from: The Journal Gazette, http://www.journalgazette.net