- NSW police are investigating reports that a conscript officer wore a pro-police anti-Black Lives Matter symbol on their uniform that night during Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade.
- Images of the officer wearing a thin blue line on their uniform were shared on social media on Saturday night after the Pride In Protest march that preceded the Mardi Gras event.
- Pride in Protest organizers condemned the officer for wearing a ‘blatant hate symbol’ in a statement posted on Facebook on Monday night.
- Visit Business Insider Australia’s homepage for more stories.
NSW police are investigating an officer who was photographed on the night of Sydney’s Mardi Gras parade in Sydney, wearing a ‘Thin Blue Line’ cloth on their uniform, a law enforcement symbol representing a setback against Black Lives Matter protests represented.
On Saturday, participants in the Pride in Protest march noticed an NSW police officer wearing the controversial cloth during an interaction with police in Hyde Park, Sydney.
Twitter user @UnionSlug shared images of the officer on social media on Saturday night.
‘Please explain this patch, @nswpolice? Is officer J Smith (Sydney cbd) with an NSW police uniform change for Sydney Mardi Gras, ”she tweeted.
Please explain this patch, @nswpolice? Does Officer J Smith (Sydney cbd) have an NSW Police uniform change for Sydney Mardi Gras?#blaklivesmatter #mardigras #blm
@prideinprotest @sallyrugg @jennyleong @Stand up @GuardianAus @vanbadham @MehreenFaruqi @CloverMoore pic.twitter.com/6IN9ieOdN0
– AL (@UnionSlug) 6 March 2021
A NSW police spokesperson told Business Insider Australia that they were investigating.
“The NSW police force is aware of reports of an officer wearing a cloth that is not part of the standard NSWPF uniform. “Quakers Hill Police Area Command officers are investigating the matter,” they said in an email.
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras did not respond to a request for comment.
Thin blue line and black life matter
The Thin Blue Line symbol usually takes the form of a black and white version of the country’s flag with a blue, horizontal stripe through the middle.
Although it has been around for some time, the symbol was recently adopted by Blue Lives Matter, a reactionary movement against law enforcement against Black Lives Matter.
Critics of the movement say the Blue Lives Matters and its thin Blue Line patch are a rejection of police liability during the increasing investigation into the treatment of law enforcers on racial minorities.
Merchandise with the symbol, which is sold around the world, is frequently noticed by police officers and is used – not exclusively – by extremists and white nationalists.
In September last year, Business Insider Australia reported that Australian police had promised to ignore orders to stop wearing Thin Blue Line symbols on their uniform, after the higher-ups in the Victorian police ordered them to do so. to wear.
Police in Queensland have also said they are carrying officers wearing the symbol after one was spotted during a rally in Black Lives Matter in the same month last year.
Police Opposition to Pride in Protest March
The group’s Facebook page said the Pride in Protest march was organized on Saturday afternoon ‘to bring back the proud protest roots of Mardi Gras and fight against systems and structures that perpetuate injustice.
The march – which addresses indigenous deaths in detention, compulsory detention of refugees and criminalization of sex work – was initially opposed by NSW police, but was released from public health at eleven o’clock before the trial in the NSW High Court.
Pride In Protest organizers on Monday issued a statement condemning the officer for wearing the Thin Blue Line patch.
‘The Thin Blue Line patch is such a blatant symbol of hatred that even the Victorian police, draconian as they are, have been forced to acknowledge it as such. Three other officers in the area heard the altercation over the patch and all remained silent. Shame on Smith and the NSW police, “the group said in a Facebook post.
After the successful takeover of Oxford Street, where thousands of people took to the streets, the NSW police felt the need to …
Posted by Pride in Protest on Sunday, March 7, 2021
Twitter user @UnionSlug, who asked not to be identified by Business Insider Australia, said the choice of a police officer to wear an anti-Black Lives Matter symbol at the event was particularly well-founded, given the history of the event.
“When it was at an event that had intersectionality, and that had race relations as a major focal point, it was not ideal,” they said.
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