Key PointsThere are calls for NSW Police to be excluded from this year\’s Mardi Gras parade. It follows the charging of a serving member of the force with two counts of murder in the case of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies.SBS News understands the Mardi Gras organisers will discuss the matter at an upcoming meeting.
The board of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras will discuss calls for NSW Police to be banned from marching in this year\’s parade, sparked after a serving police officer was charged with murder following the disappearance of a Sydney couple.
SBS News understands the discussion will happen at an upcoming meeting ahead of the Mardi Gras Parade on Saturday. The exact timing of the meeting was unclear, though a separate LGBTIQ+ group said it understood it was to occur on Monday afternoon.
The calls come after Beau Lamarre-Condon, a NSW Police officer, .
The bodies of former Network Ten reporter Jesse Baird, 26, and his boyfriend Luke Davies, 29, were helping search a property in the NSW Southern Tablelands on Monday.
Police said investigators found a discharged gunshot round at a Paddington, Sydney, home and that it had been matched to a NSW Police firearm.
A picture of Lamarre-Condon taking part in a Mardi Gras parade has also been circulated widely amid calls for NSW Police to be banned from this weekend\’s parade.
The Pride in Protest group is among those calling for NSW Police to be banned.
\”Every year they march in uniform — weapons and all — waving rainbow flags, alongside many members of the communities they so regularly violate. Lamarre himself has marched in the Mardi Gras parade, weapons on show,\” the group said in a petition.
\”Mardi Gras began as a protest against police violence towards our community. The violence has not ended, and so our protest can\’t, either.\”
Organisers behind a separate petition on Change.org say it \”would be incredibly offensive for NSW police to engage with a police float\”.
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A file photo from 2020 of NSW Police officer Beaumont Lamarre-Condon taking part in the 42nd annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade in Sydney. Source: AAP / James Gourley
Sydney couple case \’crime of passion\’, not gay-hate related: NSW police chief
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said members of the force should be allowed to participate in the parade, adding that exclusion will impact LGBTIQ+ members of the force.
\”To shut the door on them would set us backwards,\” she said at a press conference on Monday.
On Sunday, Webb apologised for police failures , which found gay hate bias was a likely factor in 25 of 32 suspected homicides from 1970 to 2010.
She said the police force had been building bridges with the LGBTIQ+ community and had been participating in the parade for two decades.
\”I would hate to see that this is the year that we are excluded because of the actions of one person that is not gay-hate related, this is a crime of passion, we will allege,\” Webb said.
\”It is domestic related, we allege, and that would be a real travesty for this organisation to be excluded.\”
NSW Premier Chris Minns said police should be allowed to march, also saying it would impact members of the police force\’s LGBTIQ+ community.
\”Yanking their invitation I think would be a regressive step and probably not indicative of the fact that they’ve gone through a lot to be a police officer.”
Independent state MP Alex Greenwich said members of the LGBTIQ+ community were heartbroken by the case of Luke and Jesse.
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Alex Greenwich says NSW Police force members should be allowed to march at the Mardi Gras parade. Source: AAP / Bianca De Marchi
He said the police needed to do a \”great deal of work\” to rebuild trust within the community, saying many did not feel comfortable reporting crimes.
But he also agreed that NSW Police should be allowed to participate.
\”I want to see them marching with us,\” Greenwich said.
\”We all need to work together, I want my community, the LGBTQ community, to be safe in NSW and there\’s more work to be done.\”
If you or someone you know is impacted by family and domestic violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732, or visit . In an emergency, call 000.
LGBTIQ+ Australians seeking support with mental health can contact QLife on 1800 184 527 or visit . also has a list of support services.
