SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio (AP) - An Ohio police officer accused of having made an obscene gesture at a group of protesters while driving a security vehicle as part of a presidential debate security detail has been placed on administrative leave, officials said.
Shaker Heights police said the unidentified officer was removed from the detail after the alleged gesture to Black Lives Matter protesters in Cleveland was reported Tuesday night. Police said they opened an investigation and placed the officer on administrative leave effective Wednesday afternoon.
Cleveland.com reported that as several hundred demonstrators marched Tuesday night, a caravan of armed officers drove nearby and an officer in riot gear driving a Shaker Heights police van extended his arm out the window and made the gesture as he drove past.
Commander John Cole said the officer was one of a number of officers sent from departments in the surrounding area to back up Cleveland police, the FBI and the U.S. Secret Service during the debate and protests.
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