FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) – Four Fort Wayne police officers are alleging slander and defamation by a black probation officer accusing them of violating her constitutional rights.

The Journal Gazette reports that an attorney for the officers and the city submitted court documents Monday seeking permission to file a counterclaim against Allen County probation officer Keiona Harrison.

Harrison sued Detectives Robert Hollo and George Nicklow, Officers Christopher Hawthorne and Julie McConnell and the city last year. The federal lawsuit alleges the officers racially profiled her and used excessive force when she saw her cousin under arrest outside a pharmacy. The lawsuit says the officers handcuffed and searched Harrison after her cousin asked she call his family.

The defendants’ attorney says it was the officers who were injured in the encounter.