Sydney probes inner city riots
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Aboriginal leaders say tensions with police had been building for some time.
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Rioters clash with Sydney police following death of Aboriginal youth.
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SYDNEY, Australia -- Australian authorities have launched three separate inquiries into circumstances surrounding the death of an Aboriginal teenager and the subsequent rioting in a Sydney suburb.
Dozens of police were injured in the violence which broke out after the horrific death of 17-year-old Thomas Hickey which angry Redfern residents believe had been caused by a police pursuit.
The teenager died after he became impaled on a metal fence after falling from his bicycle.
Hickey's mother claims the accident occurred after her son was pursued by a New South Wales police squad car, and says several witnesses will support her version of events.
"It's got to stop, the way they treat our kids," Gail Hickey said, according to an Associated Press report.
"They treat our kids like dogs ... they manhandle them."
Police have vigorously denied the claim however, saying the youth -- who had an outstanding arrest warrant -- had fled when he sighted the patrol car.
Feelings in the impoverished inner city suburb boiled over Sunday night with rioters pelting police with petrol bombs, rocks, bricks and fireworks in a drawn-out street battle.
The Redfern train station -- a key inner city hub for many commuters -- was also torched.
Four people have been arrested so far in relation to the riot.
Police have reported a calm night in the troubled suburb, in sharp contrast to the nine-hour riot which ensued a day earlier.
A handful of police officers monitored a community barbecue Monday night in the center of the troubled suburb but kept their distance, at the request of Aboriginal elders, for fear of provoking more violence.
Aboriginal community leader Lyle Munro said anger in the community had been simmering long before Hickey's death.
"These young people are very, very upset about what happened to this young man, and they're very upset about what's happening to their young friends on a continual basis," Munro told local Sydney radio.
"It was a preventable death, like most of the deaths of young Aboriginal people today."
Munro accused police of harassing people living in the squalid grid of run-down houses known as "The Block."
"This is an everyday occurrence -- the harassment and intimidation of our young people," he said.
"You could interview every Aboriginal kid down there that comes from The Block, that comes from this area in Redfern in particular, and the majority will tell you to your face ... that they've all been bashed by the police."
Aborigines make up 400,000 of Australia's 20 million people. They are the poorest, least healthy and most imprisoned members of society.
Copyright 2004 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
