100 teens fight police on chase deaths: [3 All-round Metro Edition]
John Stapleton, Elizabeth Gosch. The Australian; Canberra, A.C.T. [Canberra, A.C.T] 28 Feb 2005: 5.
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Abstract
More than 50 officers in full riot gear were confronted when the mob set a car alight in Macquarie Fields to avenge the deaths of two popular young men during a police car chase on Friday night.
Earlier, grieving friends gathered around the tree where Matt Robertson, 19, and Dylan Raywood, 17, died in a stolen car.
"Why chase a car? The car is totalled and Dylan and Matt are dead -- for what?" Mr Raywood told the Nine Network. He said he could not blame the driver alone for stealing the car because all the young men were involved in what happened.
A GANG of more than 100 teenagers turned on police with molotov cocktails for the third night of violence in strife-torn public housing estates in far-western Sydney.
More than 50 officers in full riot gear were confronted when the mob set a car alight in Macquarie Fields to avenge the deaths of two popular young men during a police car chase on Friday night.
In circumstances similar to last year's Redfern riots in Sydney's inner city, residents gathered on their balconies and front lawns to cheer on the violence.
"We want to kill coppers," some of the crowd shouted. "You killed our friends."
Earlier, grieving friends gathered around the tree where Matt Robertson, 19, and Dylan Raywood, 17, died in a stolen car.
Jamie Raywood, father of 17-year-old Dylan, blamed the police for the trouble.
"Why chase a car? The car is totalled and Dylan and Matt are dead -- for what?" Mr Raywood told the Nine Network. He said he could not blame the driver alone for stealing the car because all the young men were involved in what happened.
The driver of the car has not yet been found by police.
People at the scene of the crash on Eucalyptus Drive yesterday cited constant harassment and abuse by police, who they say had targeted a group of local men known as the Kelly Gang.
Several residents who own scanners also disputed police claims they were only chasing the men for a minute.
Police were pelted with rocks and bottles as they worked to free the bodies of Robertson and Raywood from the mangled car late on Friday night.
Trouble erupted again in the early hours of Sunday after locals tried to block the streets of Macquarie Fields for a memorial drink. Several police and a number of local residents were injured in the riots, including all three of Colleen Ellington's children.
She spent yesterday at the emergency section of Liverpool Hospital as her two daughters and son were treated for injuries from Saturday night's melee.
Her eldest daughter, Ashley, 21, received bruising down the side of one leg; younger daughter Shalee required five stitches in her head; and son Jeffrey, 16, suffered a broken arm and extensive bruising around the head.
"The police provoke them deliberately, looking to arrest them," Mrs Ellington said.
"The police intimidated and manipulated the kids. I want those police charged."
Kelly Gang members yesterday paraded their uniform, a T-shirt that reads: "I wish I was anywhere but here."
It is a slogan that reflects the socially and economically depressed nature of the area, where parents and young people complain about the lack of resources for youth.
Debbie Kelly, who described herself as the grandmother of the gang, said local boys were constantly being harassed by police.
"Nobody has put the boys' side of the story," she said.
The rioters were still in a stand-off with police early this morning.
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