22 years ago, two NSW police cars chased 17 year old Thomas (TJ) Hickey on his push bike through the streets of Redfern. Witnesses claimed the police car had clipped the bicycle while the police denied colliding with TJ; saying he had collided with a gutter. Defying physics,TJ had been flung from his bike and was fatally impaled on a 1.2 metre railing on a Waterloo housing estate.
The driver, Senior Constable Michael Hollingsworth declined to give evidence at the inquest and he was supported by the police commisioner Ken Moroney. The police were cleared of any wrong doing. After waiting for 2 years for the police to return TJ’s bike the family received a different bike, a new bike – not TJ’s.
Every year on this tragic anniversary, TJ’s family and the Redfern community calls for a serious inquiry into TJ’s murder. In 238 years of crown rule, only one police officer has ever been convicted of murder. The Crown is responsible for many deaths, such as the “welfare checks” that end with the patient being shot or deaths in custody, almost all of these are First Nations people. Last year in NSW,12 people died in custody (police or prison) and since January 2026, 14 people have died in custody in Australia. Yet there is no royal commission, there’s nothing to see here!
The police have a fundamental role in our society and that is to enforce the rule of the billionaires and bosses through the instrument of the crown. From the beginning of the colony, they enforced British rule on the First Nations, brutal rule over convicts and poor settlers. In the 19th and 20th Centuries the police attacked and shot striking workers, at the same time they are called upon to suppress demonstrations.
Despite their meager resources the Hickey family and Redfern Blak community continue to struggle for justice. Their message : ALWAYS RESIST
Memorial rally for TJ Hickey in Redfern 2026
