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Police say they have been uninvited from this weekend's Sydney Mardi Gras, following days of discussion about whether it would be appropriate for them to march.
The discussion comes in the wake of the alleged murders of gay couple Jesse Baird and Luke Davies by a serving police officer, and amid ongoing questions about the police response to December's report into LGBTQ hate crimes.
"The NSW Police Force has been advised that the Board of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras has decided to withdraw the invitation to NSW Police to participate in this year's event," a police spokesperson said in a statement tonight.
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"While disappointed with this outcome, NSW Police will continue to work closely with the LGBTIQA+ community and remain committed to working with organisers to provide a safe environment for all those participating in and supporting this Saturday's parade."
Mardi Gras organisers themselves are yet to comment.
The revelation came after Police Commissioner Karen Webb doubled down on her support for police officers to march, and Alex Greenwich, the state's only openly gay MP, added his backing.
Speaking to 9News this afternoon, Greenwich said police had work to do to repair their standing with the LGBTQ community but should still march during Saturday night's parade.
"I want police to stand with the LGBTQ community every day of the year, and that includes on Mardi Gras," he said.
"There are many gay and lesbian police officers who look forward to showing their support for the LGBTQ community at Mardi Gras by marching.
READ MORE: Openly gay MP backs cops to march at Mardi Gras despite alleged murders
"Now, there is certainly a great deal of work that police need to do to improve trust and improve community safety, but I think that starts with working together, not excluding the police from Mardi Gras."
The troubled police relationship with the event dates back to 1978, when 53 people were arrested and dozens more brutally bashed by officers in an attack on marchers who called for the decriminalisation of homosexuality.
Sydney's first Mardi Gras proved a pivotal moment in the LGBTIQ movement nationwide.
Webb said earlier said it would be a "travesty" for police to be excluded but promised to comply with organisers' wishes.
"We have been building a bridge with the gay and lesbian community since the 78ers were mishandled by police back in the day," Webb told media today in her first public appearance since Baird and Davies were allegedly murdered.
She said the alleged double murder of Baird and Davies was not "gay hate-related".
"This is a crime of passion, we will allege," she said.
"It is domestic related, we allege."
Senior Constable Beau Lamarre-Condon is charged with killing his ex-partner Baird and Baird's current partner Davies in inner Sydney last Monday, allegedly using a police pistol. Their bodies are yet to be found.
