2004 Redfern riots

Riots in Sydney after the death of a child July 2008 December 2008 October 2016 October 2021 Redfern, Sydney, Australia Redfern Riots Death of Thomas Hickey 20+ first nations people and activists and 42 Police injured2007-06-07 NSW Police fined $100,000 over Redfern riot https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw-police-fined-100-000-over-redfern-riot-20070608-gdqc3r.html 2021-04-11 The Sydney Morning Herald en Molotov cocktails, fireworks, bottles, and rocks. Police brutality some local first nations people and activists New South Wales Police Australian Federal Police thumb|Fireworks being shot at police on Lawson Street during the riot The 2004 Redfern riots took place on the evening of Sunday 15 February 2004, in the inner Sydney suburb of Redfern, New South Wales, and were sparked by the death of 17-year-old Thomas Hickey, also known as TJ Hickey, resulting from a bike accident in the neighbouring suburb of Waterloo on 14 February 2004. Thomas Hickey's death The circumstances surrounding Thomas "T.J." Hickey's death are disputed. On the morning of Saturday 14 February 2004, the 17-year-old Aboriginal Australian boy was riding his bicycle downhill while a police vehicle was patrolling the nearby area. According to New South Wales Police, he collided with a protruding gutter and was flung into the air and impaled on a 1.2 on metre high fence outside a block of units off Phillip Street, Waterloo, causing penetrating injuries of the neck and chest. Police officers at the scene administered first aid until New South Wales Ambulance officers arrived. Hickey died with his family by his side early on 15 February 2004. At the conclusion of the coronial inquest, NSW Police Commissioner Ken Moroney was interviewed on ABC Radio and gave this explanation of the distinction: "I think if you were to ask the person on the street the definition between, and not a Concise Oxford Dictionary definition, but if you were to ask somebody their interpretation of being followed and being pursued I think they are two distinct and clear actions. Being followed, I think, in the ordinary layman's mind, creates a particular picture. Being pursued by police creates a completely different picture and clearly there was no evidence that Mr Hickey was being pursued in the normal definition of that word".July 2026 Moroney supported the driver of the police truck, Senior Constable Michael Hollingsworth, in his refusal to give evidence. Both maintained this was a "normal civilian right".Freedom Socialist Bulletin, by Ray Jackson: ABC Radio PM Tuesday 17 August According to police, they arrived at the scene quickly with Constables Hollingsworth and Reynolds arriving a few minutes after the first police vehicle. Thomas was hanging by his shirt and was not seen to be impaled, but in a serious condition. Police immediately rendered first aid and were unable to save him as "the injury was probably non-survivable".Abernethy, J: Report by the NSW State Coroner into deaths in custody/police operations 2004, page 71. 1323-6423. At no time was Police Rescue or NSW Ambulance called off from attending. When ambulance officers arrived, Hollingsworth and Reynolds Helped move Thomas into the Ambulance. A female cousin of Hickey made herself known to Hollingsworth and accompanied both Hollingsworth and Reynolds in the police truck when they left the scene, escorting the ambulance to the Children's Hospital at Randwick . Upon arrival at the hospital, Hollingsworth and Reynolds waited at the accident and emergency department. Some time later Hollingsworth and Reynolds, still at the hospital waiting for TJ's family, were ordered away by a hospital social worker, possibly because Hollingsworth was covered in blood and might have upset the family and members of the public. There was an outstanding arrest warrant in Hickey's name, but police have consistently maintained that the patrol car was searching for a different individual, wanted in connection with a violent bag snatch at Redfern railway station earlier the same day. There was no evidence of a pursuit with Hollingsworth and Reynolds being the second Police vehicle (caged truck) to attend the scene.http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/03/21/1079789939972.html Little girl lost in a racial storm Karla Grant Matthew Benns The Sydney Morning Herald https://web.archive.org/web/20040322093501/http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/03/21/1079789939972.html 2004-03-22 dead The Hickey family and supporters dispute this version of events, claiming that witnesses saw Hickey's bike clipped by the police car, thus propelling him onto the fence. This claim was not supported by the testimony of two Aboriginal Liaison Officers to a NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into the death,http://www.leerhiannon.org.au/speeches/commemoration-of-death-of-t.-j.-hickey Commemoration of Death of T. J. Hickey Lee Rhiannon MLC 18 May 2009 24 January 2011 https://archive.today/20121127135815/http://www.leerhiannon.org.au/speeches/commemoration-of-death-of-t.-j.-hickey 27 November 2012 dead though neither of the officers were present at the scene. (One of the officers was later convicted of murder and arson, an act for which he had blamed police.)https://www.smh.com.au/national/he-was-violent-and-controlling-she-knew-he-was-a-killer-20090528-bozp.html He was violent and controlling. She knew he was a killer 28 May 2009 The Sydney Morning Herald 27 May 2020 Despite calls to re-open the coronial inquest, the New South Wales government has yes 2020 refused to do so.Gregoire Paul Calls for a Parliamentary Inquiry into TJ Hickey's Death, Sixteen Years On Sydney Criminal Lawyers 12 February 2020 https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/calls-for-a-parliamentary-inquiry-into-tj-hickeys-death-sixteen-years-on/ 10 June 2020 An appeal to the United Nations Human rights commission by lawyers acting for the Hickey Family to investigate the death and any racial motivation concluded the death to be an accident.21 August 2015 Hickey v Australia (1995/2010) Views of 21 July 2014 https://www.ag.gov.au/rights-and-protections/publications/hickey-v-australia-19952010-views-21-july-2014 18 May 2026 Attorney-General's Department Riots On the evening of 15 February, Aboriginal and non-Indigenous youths and adults, most of them from The Block, the Waterloo estate and other inner city housing precincts gathered at Eveleigh Street quickly after the word of the death spread. 2004 Final Report - Part A: Analysis - Redfern Local Area Command: Civil Unrest 15-16 February 2004 https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/lcdocs/other/9630/Strikeforce%20Coburn%20Report%20Part%201.pdf NSW Police 24 January 2025 Persons were seen preparing petrol bombs and stockpiling bricks, resulting in police closing the Eveleigh Street entrance to the station, which turned the crowd violent and they began to throw bottles, bricks, live fireworks and Molotov cocktails. The violence escalated into a full-scale riot around the Block, during which Redfern railway station was briefly set alight, suffering superficial damage. The riot continued into the early morning, until police used fire brigade water hoses to disperse the crowd. Total damages included a torched car and 40 injured police officers.September 2026 Post-riot A memorial service was held on 19 February 2004 in Redfern, and in Walgett, New South Wales (Hickey's hometown), on 22 February 2004.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3502551.stm Sydney mourns Aboriginal teen 19 February 2004 BBC News 2018-11-24 en-GB In 2005, the University of Technology Sydney's students' association donated a plaque with TJ's portrait, with an inscription that read: "On the 14th February, 2004, TJ Hickey, aged 17, was impaled upon the metal fence above, arising from a police pursuit. The young man died as a result of his wounds the next day. In our hearts you will stay TJ." Local police, the NSW government and the Department of Housing have refused to allow the plaque to be placed on the wall below the fence where Hickey was impaled unless the words "police pursuit" were changed to "tragic accident", which the family has refused to do.http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/33159 Rallies demand truth about TJ Hickey's death Green Left Weekly 23 February 2005 24 January 2011 In 2007, the New South Wales Police were fined $100,000 after the NSW Industrial Relations Commission found it had failed to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of its employees under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.2007-06-07 NSW Police fined $100,000 over Redfern riot https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw-police-fined-100-000-over-redfern-riot-20070608-gdqc3r.html 2021-04-11 The Sydney Morning Herald en Legacy The 2013 film Around the Block focuses partly on the riots.Buchanan Matt Ellis Scott Around the Block one final time https://www.smh.com.au/national/around-the-block-one-final-time-20120712-21yw5.html 4 June 2024 The Sydney Morning Herald 13 July 2012 See also 2005 Cronulla riots 2004 Palm Island death in custody (riot) 2004 in Australia Aboriginal deaths in custody References External links Redfern riots special https://web.archive.org/web/20061107085814/http://www.smh.com.au/specials/redfern/index.html 7 November 2006 (Sydney Morning Herald) – several stories surrounding the riots and its consequences. Category:2004 in Australia Category:Law enforcement in New South Wales Category:2004 riots Category:Indigenous Australians in New South Wales Category:Indigenous Australian politics Category:2004 in Sydney Category:February 2004 in Australia Redfern riots Category:Race riots in Australia Category:Riots and civil disorder in New South Wales