A Facebook post criticizing participants in women's rights protests that took place across North America over the weekend used a photo of local police officers to support a political agenda.

A photo of three members of the New Westminster Police Department surfaced on Facebook this week, with a caption the NWPD said does not reflect its views.

The photo was posted in response to Women's Marches held across Canada and the U.S. on Saturday, the largest of which was in Washington, D.C.

Hundreds of thousands of women, men and children took part in the protest in the U.S. capitol, with thousands more attending related events in their own cities. Approximately 15,000 took part in the Women's March in Vancouver.

The protests were held the day after the official inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump, and were inspired by the results of the U.S. election. While not specifically "anti-Trump" events, many protesters carried signs critical of the new leader and the comments made about women during the campaign.

The Facebook post, which was shared on several pages, used a photo of female NWPD officers with a caption critical of those who attended the marches asking for equal rights.

The person who posted the photo tagged two women, who are not the officers shown in the photo, and wrote the caption: "One of the most empowering things I've done as a woman was learn how to shoot, learn how to defend myself, and strap on my vest every day… not wear a f—king ridiculous pink hat and 'protest.'"

The post continued: "Working the street is the ultimate equal opportunity… bad guys don't give a f—k if you're a man or a woman. Want to feel 'equal'? Go fight someone in the street, get shot at, or have someone try to kill you."

The post was brought to the attention of the force, and Sgt. Jeff Scott "quickly determined that this does not reflect the views of our organization."

Scott said he let the officers in the photo know it existed, and one told him it was "absolutely not what I stand for as an individual."

He said the NWPD isn't taking a political stance on the issues the post evokes, but wants the public to know that the caption does not reflect the views of the organization.

The post was taken down from at least one page following a request from the NWPD, but was shared thousands of times before being deleted.

"It's still out there, it's still on the internet, and we're hoping that the public knows it's not our message," Scott said.

The image came from an article written by a New Westminster paper, "The Record," in 2014.

It was part of a story promoting the growing number of women in policing, "and that there's no difference between men or women in this job," Scott said.

"It's unfortunate to see an image that was supposed to promote diversity in this career to be used for a political stance that we're not going to take an opinion on."

With a report from CTV Vancouver's Scott Roberts