By Ray Jackson, Sydney
St Valentine's Day will be the second anniversary of the death of TJ Hickey, who was mortally impaled on a metal-spiked fence in Redfern on February 14, 2004.
According to those calling for the inquest into TJ's death to be reopened, TJ's impalement was brought about by his bicycle being rammed by a Redfern police paddy wagon driven by Constable Michael Hollingsworth.
TJ became another death in custody statistic and the Redfern police cover-up was carried over into the Coroner's Court. The cover-up was also supported by then-premier Bob Carr's government, which, from day one, took the police's view that they had no involvement in TJ's tragic death.
Several witnesses who had approached the Coroner's Court were either rejected by the Legal Aid team appointed by the state government to represent TJ's mother, Gail Hickey, or were driven away by police pressure. The evidence presented to the coronial inquiry became even more restricted when items of legal importance were not called into the inquest. These included the bicycle ridden by TJ, which Gail and April (TJ's girlfriend) argue had different wheels than it had at the time of the event.
Neither the "crime scene" nor the police wagons involved in the chase of TJ were properly forensically examined. In fact, both wagons were steamed clean and re-painted within weeks of the event.
Perhaps the most telling omission was that Hollingsworth was excused by the coroner, John Abernethy, from taking the witness stand.
It was no surprise to anyone, least of all Gail, her family and supporters, that the coroner found that the Redfern police had no part in the "tragic accident". The police once again walked away from a death in which they'd been involved.
TJ died in hospital early on February 15. That night erupted into the civil unrest, which the government, police and a compliant media continually referred to as "the Redfern riots". But the Redfern police also had a hand in arranging this "riot", the better to shift the spotlight from the chase and ramming of TJ's bike to endless analysis of "police bravery" on that night.
Redfern erupted because people knew what had happened and when TJ was pronounced dead, tensions grew. Certain police arrogantly patrolled the Block in their cars, and as TJ's family and friends gathered in Pemulwuy Park in grief and shock, some police cars stopped opposite them, smirking and laughing.
As the news went out to other suburbs, the Block began to fill with TJ's young friends. They came to respect Gail and share her grief.
Some police began provoking them, aiming at them with their hands in the shape of a gun and telling them that they would be next.
Hollingsworth was labelled a hero by his peers, and promoted to senior constable by Police Commissioner Ken Moroney.
Gail Hickey has continued to fight for truth and justice, and on December 23 Abernethy wrote to the Indigenous Social Justice Association requesting the names of our, as yet unheard, witnesses so he may refer them to the Office of the Crown Solicitor.
We replied requesting until the end of February to comply, thanked him for the opportunity to possibly re-open the original inquest and asked that, for safety reasons, our witnesses be interviewed by the coroner before being referred to the Crown Solicitor.
Justice is possible, but we now need witnesses to lose their fear of the police, come forward and tell what they saw.
Police cover-ups of deaths in custody are well known. White deaths or black deaths — the police are always exonerated by a system more interested in protecting them than finding the truth.
Over the years there have been many deaths that have involved the police — John Pat in WA, Eddie Murray in NSW, Ronnie Levi at Bondi Beach, Jim Hallinan in Tumut and so many others.
Abernethy has given us a window of opportunity and we must use it. We need the support of all good people in our call for truth and justice.
On February 14 we will be gathering at 11am at the fence where TJ was impaled, at the corner of George and Philip Streets, Waterloo. At 11.21am there will be two minutes' silence and we will march to the Sydney Police Centre in Goulburn Street, where Commissioner Moroney has been invited to meet us. A community BBQ is planned at the Block afterwards and we invite everyone to come to the rally, march and BBQ.
In every country there are questionable deaths in custody. In 2001, Ken Fero and Tariq Mehmood produced a documentary film called Injustice about London families' struggle for justice following the deaths in custody of their loved ones. The Indigenous Social Justice Association (ISJA) will be screening Injustice on February 14, at 7pm, at the Tom Mann Theatre, 136 Chalmers St, Surry Hills.
Gail Hickey will attend the event and speak about TJ's death, and Letty Scott and her son Nathan will talk about the death in custody of Douglas Bruce Scott in Berrimah Jail in Darwin. Letty is fighting for justice for her husband's murder by four prison officers in 1985.
From Green Left Weekly, February 8, 2006.
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