The NSW police union says that comments made by Western Sydney Wanderers fans calling police bastards should not have been repeated by a senator.
Liberal Democratic Senator David Leyonhjelm, while addressing the media on Tuesday outside an inquiry, referred to a term used by the A-League club's fans: "All Cops Are Bastards".
"Now cops earn that, they have to unearn it," Senator Leyonhjelm said.
"The police are not our masters. They are our servants and I think they should remember that.”
Police Association NSW president Scott Weber on Wednesday morning called for Senator Leyonhjelm's removal.
"The senator is completely out of step with community views and needs to be removed immediately," Mr Weber said.
Senator Leyonhjelm has responded on Twitter to comments from both 2GB radio host Ray Hadley and police.
"My advice to Ray Hadley and anyone concerned about being called a bastard, including coppers, is don't be a bastard," he tweeted.
Senator Leyonhjelm's comments came NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Denis Clifford, Wanderers chief executive John Tsatsimas, leaders of the Red and Black Bloc (RBB) supporter group and Parramatta Council were questioned on Tuesday by members of the Senate's economics reference committee.
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The hearing, under the so-called "nanny state" inquiry, followed recent outcry over the proposed police crackdown on the RBB, and aimed to investigate the potential for new policing methods at Wanderers games, including a softer European-style approach.
Committee members, Labor senator Sam Dastyari and Liberal Democratic Party senator David Leyonhjelm, joined the RBB in rejecting the "excessive" restrictions handed to them in September, the group believing they had been unfairly targeted by heavy-handed police tactics including riot squad deployment.
The regulations, which were not enforced, included a ban on the group's traditional march to their Parramatta home ground.
An increased 45 police officers patrolled Pirtek Stadium for Sunday's match with Perth, but there were were no incidents, following a brawl and arrests before the round-three Sydney derby and violent scenes last season.
Asst Comm Clifford robustly defended the NSW Police Force's stance, saying it would be "utopia" not to have any police at games at all.
"But I can't take that chance when there's that element of the crowd that want to engage in that violent behaviour that could kill someone," he said.
Senator Dastyari questioned Asst Comm Clifford on his earlier linking of Wanderers spectators with 2005's Cronulla race riots, with which he had experience.
"This isn't the same thing, is it?" Senator Dastyari asked.
"It could lead to that. It could lead to that large-scale public disorder," Assistant Commissioner Clifford responded, adding it only took a handful of people to get an entire crowd "whipped up in things".
He said more than 100 Wanderers supporters had been banned since the club's inception, but that it was difficult to recognise those people at the gates.
Assistant Commissioner Clifford said he wasn't sure how often the NSW Police met the RBB, but welcomed an opportunity to personally sit down with the group and open a meaningful dialogue.
"The test has to be, how do you best isolate those handful of poorly acting individuals and not infringe on everybody else?" Senator Dastyari told AAP afterwards.
"Evidence we've heard today from both the fans, the club and the council is that they feel that it's gone too far and the decent fans that are doing the right thing are having their rights infringed upon."
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