Monty Cantsin
17th February 2004, 06:45
'Alcohol, heat, grief triggered the riot'
By Paola Totaro, Connie Levett and Geesche Jacobsen
February 17, 2004
Redfern, 1.34am ... a powerful firecracker explodes on the police line in the heat of the violent confrontation with dozens of Aborigines protesting over the death of a local teenager. Photo: Edwina Pickles
The Premier, Bob Carr, and the Police Commissioner, Ken Moroney, have blamed alcohol, grief over a boy's death and the unrelenting heat for the Redfern Aboriginal riot and announced three inquiries into the rampage.
Forty police were injured, parts of the railway station were torched and bricks and molotov cocktails were thrown during the wild melee over the death of a 17-year-old Aborigine, Thomas 'TJ' Hickey.
Mr Carr and Mr Moroney called for calm as emotions continued to run high over claims that police were chasing Thomas on Saturday when he lost control of his bicycle, landing on his back on the spikes of a steel fence. He died on Sunday, triggering the riot that was finally contained in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Despite the call for calm, the Leader of the Opposition, John Brogden, during a visit to Redfern, called for the use of bulldozers to resolve the area's problems.
"The fact that 40 or 50 police were injured whilst they stood there and copped it from young Aboriginal thugs and others is an unacceptable position going forward . . .
"I'd bring the bulldozers in because I think allowing this to happen every couple of years, which is what's going to happen, will never fix the problem."
But there was defiance on Eveleigh Street as more than 100 residents of the Block cheered and whistled approval when a community spokesman, Lyall Munro, using a megaphone, said "the streets were taken by our young people and we are all proud".
Another speaker said "there is no justice in this community for us. What about deaths in custody? This is another death in custody".
As a handful of uniformed police looked on from the railway station, with its gutted front offices, a young girl scratched on the footpath the words "Police killed TJ" with a stone, over and over again.
However, a later meeting of Aboriginal community leaders, police and members of the Premier's Department was amicable.
Peter Fernando, deputy head of the Aboriginal Medical Service, said of the riot that "everyone agreed it shouldn't have happened" and that as a result of the meeting an Aborigine will be included on an investigation panel.
Announcing that the Coroner, the Ombudsman, Bruce Barbour, and the police Critical Incident Team would investigate the riot, Mr Carr said he had been told that officers were not chasing Thomas Hickey at the time of the accident but were looking for an offender in a bashing case.
He thanked community leaders who had tried to defuse the situation but said some elements had stirred up the crowd. "There were three mediation attempts between 11am and 4pm [on Sunday] . . . I know that some Aboriginal community leaders did urge dispersal and I thank them for that.
"Advice from police is that the heat and alcohol played a large part . . . and orchestration by elements who urged a major incident."
Mr Carr added: "I've got full confidence in the way police tackled this incident . . . there's no doubt there was a group of people seeking to aggravate this situation; there were posters, bricks collected, molotov cocktails . . . there was a great degree of deliberation."
Mr Moroney confirmed that there was a current warrant for Thomas Hickey's arrest but stressed that at the time of the accident police had not given the teenager a "second thought" because they had been chasing someone else.
The Police Minister, John Watkins, insisted that during the riot officers were never "overwhelmed" and described the rampage as an "aberration" in police relations with Redfern's Aboriginal community.
Last night, Eveleigh Street was calm, with more than 50 locals gathered around a barbecue put on by the Aboriginal Land Council while children played at a nearby playground.
A street preacher, Colin Davis, said that the elders were sending a message to the community that "we will be there for you . . . from now on, the elders will stand up and be counted".
About 10 police watched the gathering from nearby.
By Paola Totaro, Connie Levett and Geesche Jacobsen
February 17, 2004
Redfern, 1.34am ... a powerful firecracker explodes on the police line in the heat of the violent confrontation with dozens of Aborigines protesting over the death of a local teenager. Photo: Edwina Pickles
The Premier, Bob Carr, and the Police Commissioner, Ken Moroney, have blamed alcohol, grief over a boy's death and the unrelenting heat for the Redfern Aboriginal riot and announced three inquiries into the rampage.
Forty police were injured, parts of the railway station were torched and bricks and molotov cocktails were thrown during the wild melee over the death of a 17-year-old Aborigine, Thomas 'TJ' Hickey.
Mr Carr and Mr Moroney called for calm as emotions continued to run high over claims that police were chasing Thomas on Saturday when he lost control of his bicycle, landing on his back on the spikes of a steel fence. He died on Sunday, triggering the riot that was finally contained in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Despite the call for calm, the Leader of the Opposition, John Brogden, during a visit to Redfern, called for the use of bulldozers to resolve the area's problems.
"The fact that 40 or 50 police were injured whilst they stood there and copped it from young Aboriginal thugs and others is an unacceptable position going forward . . .
"I'd bring the bulldozers in because I think allowing this to happen every couple of years, which is what's going to happen, will never fix the problem."
But there was defiance on Eveleigh Street as more than 100 residents of the Block cheered and whistled approval when a community spokesman, Lyall Munro, using a megaphone, said "the streets were taken by our young people and we are all proud".
Another speaker said "there is no justice in this community for us. What about deaths in custody? This is another death in custody".
As a handful of uniformed police looked on from the railway station, with its gutted front offices, a young girl scratched on the footpath the words "Police killed TJ" with a stone, over and over again.
However, a later meeting of Aboriginal community leaders, police and members of the Premier's Department was amicable.
Peter Fernando, deputy head of the Aboriginal Medical Service, said of the riot that "everyone agreed it shouldn't have happened" and that as a result of the meeting an Aborigine will be included on an investigation panel.
Announcing that the Coroner, the Ombudsman, Bruce Barbour, and the police Critical Incident Team would investigate the riot, Mr Carr said he had been told that officers were not chasing Thomas Hickey at the time of the accident but were looking for an offender in a bashing case.
He thanked community leaders who had tried to defuse the situation but said some elements had stirred up the crowd. "There were three mediation attempts between 11am and 4pm [on Sunday] . . . I know that some Aboriginal community leaders did urge dispersal and I thank them for that.
"Advice from police is that the heat and alcohol played a large part . . . and orchestration by elements who urged a major incident."
Mr Carr added: "I've got full confidence in the way police tackled this incident . . . there's no doubt there was a group of people seeking to aggravate this situation; there were posters, bricks collected, molotov cocktails . . . there was a great degree of deliberation."
Mr Moroney confirmed that there was a current warrant for Thomas Hickey's arrest but stressed that at the time of the accident police had not given the teenager a "second thought" because they had been chasing someone else.
The Police Minister, John Watkins, insisted that during the riot officers were never "overwhelmed" and described the rampage as an "aberration" in police relations with Redfern's Aboriginal community.
Last night, Eveleigh Street was calm, with more than 50 locals gathered around a barbecue put on by the Aboriginal Land Council while children played at a nearby playground.
A street preacher, Colin Davis, said that the elders were sending a message to the community that "we will be there for you . . . from now on, the elders will stand up and be counted".
About 10 police watched the gathering from nearby.