A leading Jewish community figure has slammed a decision to not charge a Melbourne police officer accused of performing the Nazi salute twice.
The veteran police sergeant allegedly made the banned gesture at the Victoria Police Academy at Glen Waverley, in Melbourne's southeast, on successive days in October.
The 65-year-old woman was accused of approaching two employees and performing the salute, as well as uttering the words "heil Hitler".
The following day, in a post-family violence scenario debriefing with a recruit squad and another instructor, the sergeant again allegedly performed the salute and said "heil Hitler".
It prompted a swift rebuke from Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton, who labelled her alleged actions "appalling" and "abhorrent".
But Victoria Police's criminal case has been dropped after it received advice from the Office of Public Prosecutions that there was "no reasonable prospect of conviction".
An internal discipline investigation has been launched and the sergeant remains suspended.
Anti-Defamation Commission chair Dvir Abramovich, who spent years lobbying governments to ban the salute, said he was shocked by the outcome given Mr Patton's previous remarks.
"This decision risks sending a dangerous and corrosive message - that some individuals, by virtue of their position, may be above the law," he told AAP.
Mr Abramovich said the "shameful" decision must be fully explained and made public, declaring Victorians had a right to know.
"I am appalled that an act so profoundly offensive to Holocaust survivors and their descendants is being swept under the rug," he said.
The state prosecutors' office has been contacted for comment.
A Victorian government spokeswoman said it would be inappropriate to "run a commentary" while the internal disciplinary process was under way.
"There's no place for this sort of hurtful and divisive behaviour and Victorians rightly expect the highest standard of conduct from police members," she said.
State and federal governments have banned Nazi symbols and gestures following concerns of rising anti-Semitism.
Far-right extremist and self-proclaimed "Hitler soldier" Jacob Hersant became the first Victorian found guilty of intentionally performing the Nazi salute in public in October.
He was sentenced to one month in prison but freed on bail pending an appeal.
In Victoria, performing the Nazi salute in public can carry a sentence of up to 12 months in prison and or an $A23,000 fine if proven.
