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Officer mistook TJ's body for clothing

6 July 2004 - One of the first police officers to see teenager Thomas "TJ" Hickey impaled on a fence in Redfern said he originally thought the slumped body was hung clothing.

Constable Alan Rimell told the inquest into the 17-year-old's death that when he first saw TJ's body slumped over the fence "like a rag doll", he thought it was a jacket and a backpack.

The teenager's death the following morning on February 15 sparked riots in the suburb which left 40 police injured.

Officers were pelted with rocks, bricks and Molotov cocktails during nine hours of violence which has so far resulted in more than 25 people being charged.

TJ's family and some in the community claim police were chasing TJ, who was on his bicycle, just before he died - a claim rejected by police.

Const Rimell and Constable Ruth Rocha found TJ on the fence while they were patrolling the area searching for a bag snatcher.

They had seen TJ earlier but denied chasing him.

"I saw a man standing next to what appeared to be a backpack and a jacket on the fence," Const Rimell said.

"I realised it wasn't a jacket or a backpack but a body stuck on the fence.

"Then I grabbed the police radio."

He said he did not realise there was a warrant out for TJ's arrest for stealing matters until he returned to the station.

But another Redfern officer Senior Constable Lee Bailey earlier said TJ's profile as a high risk offender had been updated only three days before his death and placed on the station's notice board.

"In all probability it was distributed to police three days before his death," the Hickey family's lawyer John Stratton asked.

"It's a possibility," Sen Const Bailey replied.

Snr Const Bailey said a large number of people in the Redfern area were considered high risk offenders.

The officer in charge of the investigation, Detective Senior Constable Michael Kyneur (Kyneur), told the hearing he did not consider that two other officers had breached police guidelines by leaving facts out of their statements.

He had earlier said Constables Michael Hollingsworth and Maree Reynolds had travelled along the same parkway footpath as TJ but also denied chasing him.

Neither officer mentioned driving along the pathway in their statements made the day of the incident, the inquest heard.

"No I don't believe in my opinion (that they breached police protocol)," Snr Const Kyneur said.

"I think it goes without saying that there could have been further detail in their statements."

The inquest before Coroner John Abernethy continues tomorrow.

Source: AAP

Further information: redfern riots

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