Cincinnati Officer Sues Individuals Who Accused Him of Racist Gesture

An officer with the Cincinnati Police Department has sued at least four people who have accused him of racist behavior in the wake of the protests earlier this summer.

According to the Cincinnati Enquirer , the officer claims in the suit that he was "tortiously violated," that people disseminated personal information about him online, and that he was defamed.

The officer said he was falsely accused of racism for making the "OK" gesture with his hand.

"People in the crowd made the juvenile, unfounded, incorrect and hysterical claim that (the officer's) innocuous 'okay' gesture was a 'white power' or 'white supremacist' hand signal intended to intimidate people," the suit states.

The "OK" hand symbol has been associated with white power movements because it resembles the letters "W" and "P."