New South Wales police has denied an officer knew he was making a hand symbol frequently used by members of the alt-right after he was photographed doing the "OK" gesture during a response to protests against police brutality.
The photo, taken in Sydney's CBD on Friday night, shows the officer making the controversial gesture - his thumb and index finger forming a circle while extending his other three fingers - towards the camera.
In a statement to SBS News on Saturday, a NSW Police Force spokesperson said the officer was responding to a group of women about the night being "okay" and used his hand as he was wearing a face mask.
"The officer has been spoken to and did not intentionally make a gesture that could be deemed offensive," the statement said. "He did not know the gesture had any other meaning."
Video posted to social media shows the officer quickly putting his hand up while walking past the camera.
The footage, which was circulated on social media after the protest, comes months after a Victorian police officer was pictured at an environmental protest making the same hand gesture.
Victorian Police said in November the officer was making an "are you OK?" sign to two protesters who looked distressed but later expressed "extreme disappointment" after .
The gesture, which allegedly spells out "WP" for white power, has been added to the Anti-Defamation League's database of hate symbols.
Former Australian race discrimination commissioner Tim Soutphommasane shared the photo on Twitter and said past controversies meant the officer would have been aware of the gesture's meaning.
"No police officer can pretend they don’t know this is a sign appropriated by white supremacists," he wrote.
A massive police presence smothered the unauthorised protest calling for an end to Indigenous deaths in custody on Friday night, with 600 police officers outnumbering protesters two to one.
A 24-year-old woman was arrested after failing to comply with a move-on direction. She was subsequently fined for breaching a public health order and released.
"The NSW Police Force works closely to foster a strong and cohesive partnership with Aboriginal communities and other groups and does not appreciate irresponsible inflammatory commentary in this space," the police spokesperson said.
