2004 Redfern riots

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Fireworks being Shot at Police during the 9-Hour Riot

The 2004 Redfern riots took place on the evening of Saturday, 14 February 2004, in the inner Sydney suburb of Redfern, sparked by the death of a young man named Thomas Hickey.

Thomas Hickey's death

The circumstances of Thomas 'T.J.' Hickey's death are disputed. The facts are that the 17-year-old Indigenous Australian was riding his bicycle, a police vehicle began chasing him, and as he was

Redfern Riots
Location	Australia
Caused by	Death of Thomas Hickey
Methods	Molotov Cocktails, Fireworks, Bottles and Rocks.
Parties to the civil conflict
Aboriginal Youths Australian Federal Police Bystanders
Lead figures
Units involved
Number
Casualties and losses
Casualties
Death(s)	1 Person after the Crowd was broken up
Injuries	40+ Police Injured One severely injured after being hit in the head With a Brick.

chased he came off his bicycle and was impaled in a 2.5-metre high fence, causing penetrating injuries of the neck and chest.

According to police, they arrived at the scene quickly, but were unable to save him as "the injury was probably non-survivable." There was an outstanding arrest warrant in his 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.

The Hickey family and supporters fiercely 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 supported by the testimony of two Aboriginal Liaison Officers to a NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into the death, though neither of the Officers were present at the scene. Despite calls to re-open the coronial inquest, the New South Wales government has refused to do so.

Doubt remains over the veracity of the evidence presented during the case. One of the Aboriginal Police Liaison Officers who gave testimony for the Hickey family, Paul James Wilkinson, later admitted to the murder of his pregnant girlfriend five months prior to making his allegations. Wilkinson pleaded guilty to murder on 13 November 2008, judged as being 'well-versed in deception and motivated by self-interest' when receiving a 28-year custodial sentence.

Riots

On the evening of 15 February, Aboriginal youths gathered from across Sydney to the Redfern area, and when police closed the Eveleigh Street entrance to the station, the crowd became violent and 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 alight, suffering superficial damage. The riot continued into the early morning, until police used fire brigade water hoses to disperse the crowd. Total damages include a torched car (previously stolen from a western suburb), and 40 police officers injured.

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.[1]

In 2005, the University of Technology Sydney's students' association donated a plaque with TJ's portrait, with an inscription reads: "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.

The Hickey's parents, Gail and Ian Hickey, divorced in late 2006. Hickey supporters also claim that police have continued to harass the family, including the arrest of several family members and friends on 4 September 2010.

Legacy

The 2013 movie Around the Block focuses partly on the riots.

See also

• 2005 Cronulla riots
• 2004 Palm Island death in custody (riot)
• 2004 in Australia

External links

• Redfern riots special (Sydney Morning Herald) - several stories surrounding the riots and its consequences.

• Abernethy, J: Report by the NSW State Coroner into deaths in custody/police operations 2004, page 71. ISSN No: 1323-6423.