2004 Redfern riots

The Redfern Riots on the evening of Saturday 14 February 2004 was an event in the inner Sydney suburb of Redfern sparked by the death of Thomas 'TJ' Hickey, a 17 year old Indigenous Australian.

The teenager was riding home on his bicycle from his mother's house when he was supposed to have spotted a police car and assumed it was chasing him. 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. Regardless, Hickey lost control of his bicycle while turning a corner and impaled himself on a metal fence. Police arrived at the scene quickly, but were unable to save him.

One controversy surrounding the actions of the New South Wales Police was the failure of an ambulance to attend the scene immediately following the incidentFact|date=August 2007. However, the police did have on the scene a Special Response Unit similar to those found at accidents involving spinal injuries and these units are purportedly equipped superior to an ambulance for this type of injury. Fact|date=March 2007.

Friends and relatives gathered at The Block to grieve. Fliers were distributed blaming police for the death and discontented aboriginal youths gathered from across Sydney. The police closed the Eveleigh Street entrance to the station but the crowd had turned violent and began to throw bottles, bricks and Molotov cocktails that had been stockpiled earlier. 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. One car, stolen in a western suburb, was torched, and 40 police officers were injured.

Subsequent to the riot in the media police denied that they were present at Hickey's death. A subsequent coronial inquest found that they were following Hickey, but that this had not caused the accident. The coroner stated that there were doubts about the truthfulness of the police report, but that further action could not be taken unless police statements changed.

A memorial service was held on February 19, 2004, in Redfern, and in Walgett, New South Wales (Hickey's hometown), on February 22, 2004.

The riots sparked fresh debate over welfare of Indigenous Australians and the response of the police to those living in the Redfern area.

ee also

* 2005 Macquarie Fields riots
* 2005 Cronulla riots

External links

* [http://smh.com.au/specials/redfern/index.html Redfern riots special] (Sydney Morning Herald) - several stories surrounding the riots and its consequences.