Eleven years after the 17-year-old's death sparked a nine-hour riot, the Hickey family and about 150 supporters, including indigenous rights advocates and social justice activists, held a rally in his honour.
At the land dubbed TJ Hickey Park, TJ's mother, Gail Hickey, laid flowers near the fence on which her son was impaled.
But the family was disappointed that some supporters displayed provocative messages against police, which incited a confrontation between protesters and police after police removed one banner off the fence where TJ died and attempted to take away another.
Gail Hickey wept emotionally as the rally turned violent.
"All I want today is to have a nice peaceful march," she said.
"I don't want no banners about coppers and that on the banners. That is mucking my son's march up and if they can't respect my son's march they're not welcome at my son's march."
The Supreme Court upheld on Friday a NSW Police decision that protesters should not be allowed to march as far as the Sydney CBD, due to safety and trafffic concerns.
An inquest found the teenager's death was a "freak accident", and found no evidence that the police were pursuing him at the time.
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