Stop Black deaths in Custody Rally for 9th Anniversary of TJ Hickey 2013!! petition, flyer, poster
the attached documentation is to advertise and reinforce the great need for a huge rally and march to show the nsw government our public displeasure that this event has now been called for the ninth time.
for nine long years the hickey family have called for justice relative to the death of their son, 17 year old tj hickey, who died as the consequence of the redfern police pursuing him to his death after he was rammed, being thrown in the air with great force, and sickingly landing on the spiked fence line, again with great force.
instead of recieving proper medical attention by the first police officer on the scene, then-constable michael hollingsworth, he was roughly pulled off the spikes and thrown to the concrete whereby he bled very heavily despite the alleged assistance by hollingsworth. every one who has done basic first aid, as the police are trained for, knows that impaled victims must be left in situ or to remain impaled until the police rescue unit is called to assist the victim. when the police rescue unit did arrive with medically trained and competent staff hollingsworth sent them away.
finally two ambulances arrived and took over but instead of taking him to the royal prince alfred hospital, the closest, he was transported to the prince of wales hospital at randwick. he died early next morning.
that sunday night the many youth who knew tj and/or others who blamed the redfern police for the death of tj became involved in the so-called redfern riots. these young people were very angry by the police driving through and around the block telling the kids that they would be next and also disrespecting the hickey family in their grief by pointing to them and laughing. family complaints were ignored by the senior police of the time.
isja became involved and offered gail hickey the services of a solicitor and a barrister whom we were satisfied would have vigourously fought for justice for the hickey family. the police and the carr government, however had other ideas and talked gail into accepting a government and police-sponsered legal team that we considered done very little in representing the family in their fight for justice.
then-nsw coroner, john abernethy, firmly restricted the parameters of the coronial inquest and the evidence that was allowed into the court. among other evidence that was not raised/blocked was the normal practice of presenting the final autopsy report perhaps because it raised the issue of a massive force being applied to tj when he was catupaulted onto the fence line.
tj's bycycle was not brought into the court as evidence as it remained in the control of the investigating police. when the bycycle was finally handed back to gail it was observed by the family and ms. april ceisman, his girlfriend of the time, that both the bycycle wheels had been replaced and did not show the damage that the ramming had caused that was shown on a tv news bulletin on the saturday evening.
the two witnesses that isja had found to the arrival and departure of the police rescue van were blocked by the government/police appointed legal team from giving evidence. in court assistance from isja and dr. carl hughes attempting to assist the family was also quashed by the coroner himself.
although threatened by counsel-assisting the coroner, then-senior council (now judge) elizabeth fullerton that she would subpoena the personal mobile phone records of the 4 main police witnesses called to explain their actions and movements on that day, she never did. another police officer, the one that the redfern police executive had transfered out of the redfern station on the saturday alleging he was in danger from the residents of redfern, was the first police officer called and after the coroner admonished the community and family for accusing him of wrong-doing in the event of tj's death he was again whisked away to an unkown destination.
there are matters of serious dispute at the processes and outcomes of the police cover-up brief of evidence as well as the complete stage-management of the coronial inquest and for the ninth time the family, the communities where tj lived and isja continue to call for justice to be done by re-opening the need for a wider and more professional investigation of the facts and all witnesses and other witheld evidence to be utilised for a full forensic examination to reach a just conclusion.
we have also reissued the petition calling for justice for tj and his family and we ask all those who can to print off the petition and to get it filled in by your family, your friends, your work colleagues, your club or church, in fact by everyone that you know. when full please mail back to isja at the address below by monday 11 february 2013 for delivery to the nsw attorney-general, greg smith, for his knowledge and action. we want thousands of signatures so please help us reach this goal. if you can print off the a4 poster or a3 double-sided leaflet and copy and distribute that also we would most certainly be appreciative of such assistance.
this year, thursday 14 february 2013, we will be marching from the fence line, after the rally, to the nsw parliament where gail hickey, on behalf of her son, will present the petitions to greg smith. we are further hopeful that the a-g will favour a meeting to be held with representatives of the family and isja to allow further facts to be put to him.
nine years is just way too long to call for real justice although other death in custody families have fought for over 30 years. i have personally seen the physical and mental damage done to these families and it is nothing but state-sanctioned torture for governments to allow these injustices to continue.
our federal government is raising the argument of recognition, well i say to prime minister julia gillard, what about recognising the over 400 aboriginal and torres strait islander deaths in custody since 1980 and including such deaths in her racist government nt intervention?
we ask via this medium that a-g greg smith meet us at parliament house to recieve the petitions from gail and to meet with us to resolve the injustice that has dragged for nine long years.
(Three PDFs would not attach here. Get them from Ray.
flyer back 9th anniversary tj hickey rally 14 feb 2013 Ray+ Raul + shelly.pdf
poster 9th anniversary tj hickey rally 14 feb 2013 raul + shelly with changes.pdf)
TJ Hickey stop black deaths in custody petition + Shelly 20 Jan 2012.pdf)
fkj
ray jackson
president
indigenous social justice association
isja01@internode.on.net
(m) 0450 651 063
(p) 02 9318 0947
address 1303/200 pitt street waterloo 2017
we live and work on the stolen lands of the gadigal people.
sovereignty treaty social justice
