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Racial tension spills into rioting
PARTS of an inner-Sydney suburb were closed down last night after a day of unrest which saw angry residents blame police for the death of a teenager.
Bricks, rocks and bottles were thrown at police vehicles, pizza delivery drivers and The Daily Telegraph's car during a visit last night. Lawson St was closed to traffic around 9pm as police moved in to quell the disturbances.
Mock "wanted" posters, pinned up all over Redfern, accuse police of being "child killers", and warn they should not be approached because they are armed.
The posters feature pictures of two high-profile senior officers and an unidentified junior officer.
Seventeen-year-old Thomas "TJ" Hickey, of Waterloo, was flung off his bicycle and impaled on a fence late on Saturday in what residents say was a police pursuit.
He died in Sydney's Children's Hospital yesterday morning after receiving chest, neck and internal injuries.
The boy's mother, Gail, disputes the police version of the events.
"They (the police) did chase him at that time. I've got a witness to all that. He saw everything that happened," she told ABC Online.
"He told me he saw my son riding the bike really fast. Next minute he saw cop cars coming, chasing my son to the building there, where it happened."
The posters were created after resident "frustration" at their attempts to have what they see as the truth come out.
Redfern Police held a press conference yesterday and denied there was a pursuit of Hickey, and have asked for witnesses to the incident to come forward.
Inspector Bob Emery said at the time of the accident police were patrolling several blocks from where Hickey was riding his bike.
"They were some distance (away). They were in the area patrolling in line with community expectations, I think," he said.
Minutes before, police and Hickey had crossed paths but they did not pursue him because he was not a person of interest.
Asked whether Hickey may have been fleeing because he saw the police, Insp Emery said it was impossible to know what the youth had been thinking.
During the press conference, a police media spokeswoman prompted Insp Emery not to answer questions about reports that a warrant was out for Hickey's arrest.
"That's not an issue," Insp Emery said. "He wasn't being sought by the police, he wasn't a person of interest to them, no, and I can't go any further into it. That's really beside the point now
http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,8695759%5E2,00.html
Teenager's death triggers fiery Aboriginal rampage
Fury and tragedy...Redfern station burns during the height of the confrontation between local Aboriginal people and police following the death of Thomas Hickey, right. Main photo: Edwina Pickles
Redfern railway station was set ablaze, windows were smashed and at least one police officer was taken to hospital as Aborigines went on a rampage last night in a furious response to the death of a teenage boy.
Trains were ordered not to stop at the station from about 9.30 as Aborigines began gathering and fire crews and police reinforcements were called in.
Up to 60 police officers in riot gear, seven fire engines, 15 police cars and two ambulances converged on the Lawson Street block from Regent Street to Abercrombie Street.
The death of 17-year-old Thomas Hickey on Saturday was the trigger that reignited simmering Aboriginal anger over policing in the area.
Thomas, TJ to those who knew him, died in hospital early yesterday morning from neck and chest injuries after being impaled on a fence while cycling home on Phillip Street. His family claims he was being chased by police when the accident happened, a charge the police reject.
As police moved in last night the rioters torched the entrance of the station using a liquid accelerant splashed from a bottle. Sticks wrapped with burning material were used to set alight furniture in the street.
Flames billowed from the station entrance as police in riot gear advanced three-deep towards a man at the top of Eveleigh Street. At least one police officer was carried to an ambulance.
Bottles were hurled at the station wall, leaving a thick carpet of broken glass along the footpath. Rioters stole a baton from a police car and used it to smash all the windows on the Lawson Street side of the station as well as several police windscreens.
Locals described the riot as the biggest they had seen in years. Alastair Cameron, an events manager of Little Eveleigh Street, said the rioters had been throwing bottles and bricks at the station and onto its roof from about 7pm. At one stage they had set fire to plastic street barriers and a car driven into the barriers was left to burn.
Late last night one person had been arrested and all available police from the inner metropolitan commands were sent to Redfern. About 11.30 a line of police officers in riot gear faced about 50 Aborigines.
Thomas's aunt, Virginia, said: "If you're black and see a police car, you just run." She believes police were chasing him as he rode back to her home, where he lived, about 11.15am on Saturday after visiting his mother.
Thomas's mother, Gail, said witnesses had told her that police were chasing him before the accident, and that officers had pulled him off the fence and searched his pockets before he was taken to Prince of Wales Hospital.
A warrant is believed to have been issued for the teenager's arrest. However, Inspector Bob Emery insists that at the time Thomas was not "a person of interest" to police, who were "blocks away" when he lost control of the bicycle.
Inspector Emery said a member of the public had flagged down passing police and told them where they were needed.
A spokesman for the mourning family, Lyall Munro, said "as far as we're concerned, it's an Aboriginal death in custody", because the family said Thomas had died while being chased by police.
Inspector Emery appealed for anyone with information to come forward.
Earlier yesterday flyers were handed out with a picture of police and reading: "Wanted: child murderers. There is a gang of child killers operating in the Redfern area. They can be easily identified as they all dress the same."
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/02/15/1076779843405.html
PARTS of an inner-Sydney suburb were closed down last night after a day of unrest which saw angry residents blame police for the death of a teenager.
Bricks, rocks and bottles were thrown at police vehicles, pizza delivery drivers and The Daily Telegraph's car during a visit last night. Lawson St was closed to traffic around 9pm as police moved in to quell the disturbances.
Mock "wanted" posters, pinned up all over Redfern, accuse police of being "child killers", and warn they should not be approached because they are armed.
The posters feature pictures of two high-profile senior officers and an unidentified junior officer.
Seventeen-year-old Thomas "TJ" Hickey, of Waterloo, was flung off his bicycle and impaled on a fence late on Saturday in what residents say was a police pursuit.
He died in Sydney's Children's Hospital yesterday morning after receiving chest, neck and internal injuries.
The boy's mother, Gail, disputes the police version of the events.
"They (the police) did chase him at that time. I've got a witness to all that. He saw everything that happened," she told ABC Online.
"He told me he saw my son riding the bike really fast. Next minute he saw cop cars coming, chasing my son to the building there, where it happened."
The posters were created after resident "frustration" at their attempts to have what they see as the truth come out.
Redfern Police held a press conference yesterday and denied there was a pursuit of Hickey, and have asked for witnesses to the incident to come forward.
Inspector Bob Emery said at the time of the accident police were patrolling several blocks from where Hickey was riding his bike.
"They were some distance (away). They were in the area patrolling in line with community expectations, I think," he said.
Minutes before, police and Hickey had crossed paths but they did not pursue him because he was not a person of interest.
Asked whether Hickey may have been fleeing because he saw the police, Insp Emery said it was impossible to know what the youth had been thinking.
During the press conference, a police media spokeswoman prompted Insp Emery not to answer questions about reports that a warrant was out for Hickey's arrest.
"That's not an issue," Insp Emery said. "He wasn't being sought by the police, he wasn't a person of interest to them, no, and I can't go any further into it. That's really beside the point now
http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,8695759%5E2,00.html
Teenager's death triggers fiery Aboriginal rampage
Fury and tragedy...Redfern station burns during the height of the confrontation between local Aboriginal people and police following the death of Thomas Hickey, right. Main photo: Edwina Pickles
Redfern railway station was set ablaze, windows were smashed and at least one police officer was taken to hospital as Aborigines went on a rampage last night in a furious response to the death of a teenage boy.
Trains were ordered not to stop at the station from about 9.30 as Aborigines began gathering and fire crews and police reinforcements were called in.
Up to 60 police officers in riot gear, seven fire engines, 15 police cars and two ambulances converged on the Lawson Street block from Regent Street to Abercrombie Street.
The death of 17-year-old Thomas Hickey on Saturday was the trigger that reignited simmering Aboriginal anger over policing in the area.
Thomas, TJ to those who knew him, died in hospital early yesterday morning from neck and chest injuries after being impaled on a fence while cycling home on Phillip Street. His family claims he was being chased by police when the accident happened, a charge the police reject.
As police moved in last night the rioters torched the entrance of the station using a liquid accelerant splashed from a bottle. Sticks wrapped with burning material were used to set alight furniture in the street.
Flames billowed from the station entrance as police in riot gear advanced three-deep towards a man at the top of Eveleigh Street. At least one police officer was carried to an ambulance.
Bottles were hurled at the station wall, leaving a thick carpet of broken glass along the footpath. Rioters stole a baton from a police car and used it to smash all the windows on the Lawson Street side of the station as well as several police windscreens.
Locals described the riot as the biggest they had seen in years. Alastair Cameron, an events manager of Little Eveleigh Street, said the rioters had been throwing bottles and bricks at the station and onto its roof from about 7pm. At one stage they had set fire to plastic street barriers and a car driven into the barriers was left to burn.
Late last night one person had been arrested and all available police from the inner metropolitan commands were sent to Redfern. About 11.30 a line of police officers in riot gear faced about 50 Aborigines.
Thomas's aunt, Virginia, said: "If you're black and see a police car, you just run." She believes police were chasing him as he rode back to her home, where he lived, about 11.15am on Saturday after visiting his mother.
Thomas's mother, Gail, said witnesses had told her that police were chasing him before the accident, and that officers had pulled him off the fence and searched his pockets before he was taken to Prince of Wales Hospital.
A warrant is believed to have been issued for the teenager's arrest. However, Inspector Bob Emery insists that at the time Thomas was not "a person of interest" to police, who were "blocks away" when he lost control of the bicycle.
Inspector Emery said a member of the public had flagged down passing police and told them where they were needed.
A spokesman for the mourning family, Lyall Munro, said "as far as we're concerned, it's an Aboriginal death in custody", because the family said Thomas had died while being chased by police.
Inspector Emery appealed for anyone with information to come forward.
Earlier yesterday flyers were handed out with a picture of police and reading: "Wanted: child murderers. There is a gang of child killers operating in the Redfern area. They can be easily identified as they all dress the same."
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/02/15/1076779843405.html
