A Sydney police officer accused of assaulting a woman in custody has rejected the suggestion he was angry when he pushed her into the wall of a cell.

Senior Constable Craig Norman Williamson, 30, has pleaded not guilty to the common assault of Anya Bradford, who was legally named Nicolas, in a Surry Hills police station cell in October 2018.

Ms Bradford – arrested for not reporting for bail on time – needed to be strip-searched before being put in corrective services custody, the officer told Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday.

“I didn’t push her to carry out that (strip search) function,” Williamson said.

“I pushed her because I felt an imminent threat to my safety.”

Williamson, who testified he saw the CCTV once before he was charged, said Ms Bradford was being “partially compliant” during the strip search before making a comment and changing her stance while her T-shirt was around her right wrist.

“She said ‘you’re going to have to take it off me, you fat c***’,” Williamson said.

Under cross-examination, he rejected the suggestion he was exaggerating Ms Bradford’s actions or making up the swearing comment.

-AAP