A video posted on YouTube shows a police unit busting out the moves in unison on Sunday night near CBD pub Irish Murphy's.

With the Tina Turner classic blaring in the background, pedestrians lay down the nutbush challenge to the officers stationed across the road.

The officers delivered a swift response to the delight of the crowd.

It's not the first time police have been captured on video getting their groove on.

A video of NSW police officer Yasmin London dancing in Sydney's Martin Place went viral last year, while UK cops who did the macarena at a Mardi Gras also won admirers.

Perhaps it suggests a culture shift within policing. In 1997, Fairfax Media reported that two officers who did the macarena at the SCG were lectured by their bosses "to make sure that they act in a more professional and disciplined way".

Australian police have been praised for their crowd management during the G20 long weekend, which ran from Friday to Sunday.

Some 6000 officers were stationed in Brisbane, including about 4000 from interstate and overseas.

Despite possessing armoured vans and sonic canons, police never really needed to show their harder edge.

Instead, there were several moments when police showed kindness and humour.

One photo of an officer leaving a bottle of water for a lone protester outside the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre was retweeted more than 150 times. The protester sat outside the centre with a banner for two days in the blistering heat without saying a word, only softly tapping a small drum.

The Queensland Police's media unit also won over social media fans, for what was described by Buzzfeed as an "epic troll" of Canada.

"They gave us Celine, Nickelback & Bieber but we'll still help with their PM's #G20 motorcade #nohardfeelings," the police wrote on their Facebook and Twitter pages.

They also recreated a miniature version of Barack Obama's motorcade in Lego format, along with police helicopters, cars, and a patrol boat.