The tragic moment that claimed the life of Thomas “TJ” Hickey is still fresh in his mother’s mind.
The 17-year-old boy fell from his bike and was impaled on a fence on February 14, 2004.
TJ’s family and the local Indigenous community blamed police for causing his death and the incident sparked the “Redfern Riots”.
A coronial inquest cleared the officers involved of any wrongdoing and passions over the incident still run high.
About 100 supporters gathered at Waterloo on Thursday to commemorate the life of the Sydney teenager.
“This is where it happened, where they chased him down here in the paddy wagon,” TJ's mother Gail Hickey told the crowd.
“They pulled him off the fence when they shouldn’t have pulled him off the fence. So that’s why we’re here today to fight for justice.”
After a smoking ceremony and speeches from family and friends, the crowd marched to NSW parliament to demand a fresh investigation into his death.
TJ Hickey's mother Gail Hickey in front of tributes to her late son. Source: NITV
Armed with a petition with over 11,000 signatures backing the call, Ms Hickey said that she would not give up.
“He got murdered 15 years ago and we’ve still got no justice,” she said.
Greens MP David Shoebridge said he would once again table a motion for a parliamentary inquiry into TJ’s death.
“Previously we had a coronial enquiry where key witnesses gave no evidence,” he told NITV.
“Gail is a mum and her grief is as raw today as it was 15 years ago.”
“She deserves to have answers.”
