Police have denied that Senior Constable Travis Gray's hand gesture was used as a ‘white power’ symbol.Credit:Kim Stern
"In regards to his social media page, we are aware of a small number of posts which include inappropriate memes," Victoria Police said.
"Under no circumstances are these posts reflective of the values of Victoria Police. The officer has been spoken to about these posts and, although they were made more than 12 months ago, he is aware of our extreme disappointment.
"While officers are entitled to have personal social media accounts, we do not want or expect them to be including content which may offend members of the community."
Senior Constable Travis Gray posted images via his personal Facebook account that are popular among the alt-right, particularly via the 4chan and 8chan forums.
At the time of Wednesday’s protests, his profile photo was an image of ‘Wojak’, an illustration of a bald man also known as Feels Guy who is often depicted with Pepe the Frog, a character closely associated with the alt-right.
The officer also posted an image of a crying Pepe on a comment thread responding to his profile image.
Senior Constrable Travis Gray's Facebook page features the far-right character ‘Wojak’ as the avatar.Credit:Facebook
Senior Constable Gray deactivated his Facebook account on Wednesday evening, following the circulation of his hand gesture image on social media.
His page briefly reappeared on Thursday morning under a new name and with a new profile photo, but was again deactivated a short time later.
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Earlier, Victoria Police said it was assessing the material to see if any further action is required.
"In relation to the hand gesture, we have reviewed body-worn camera footage of the incident and it’s inconclusive," Victoria Police said.
"The footage does not capture both sides of the interaction and is at times obscured by structures and people. We have spoken extensively to the officer in question and he has advised the hand gesture was simply the ‘are you OK’ sign directed at two protesters who looked distressed.
But the two protesters in question strongly rejected the claims, accusing the officer of mocking and taunting them throughout the interaction.
It's the second time in as many days police have been forced to address the behaviour of officers.
Another officer is facing disciplinary action after an image emerged of him wearing a sticker with the phrase "EAD Hippy" – slang for "eat a dick" – while patrolling this week's anti-mining protests.
"The community can be reassured this is not the type of behaviour we expect from our officers and we are extremely disappointed by the situation," Victoria Police said.
"This behaviour detracts from what was otherwise a professionally conducted operation and tarnishes the reputation of all of our officers.
"Victoria Police will be investigating the matter further with involvement from Professional Standards Command and disciplinary action will be considered as part of this."
During the anti-mining protests, police have been accused of shoving activists, using pepper spray and batons. One protester was hospitalised after being injured by a police horse and dozens of activists have been arrested.
Senior police have repeatedly defended the force's tactics this week, saying officers exercised "fine restraint" in the face of protesters who were harassing and spitting on mining delegates as they entered the conference.
Protesters, who vowed to be "as disruptive as possible", blocked entrances to the conference and harassed mining delegates.
Benjamin Millar is a reporter for The Age.
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