I thought they must be bad guys, then I saw it was kids'

Moments after he was pulled from a mangled car wreck in Kings Cross, shocking footage shows police repeatedly striking Troy Taylor before dragging his limp body across the street


An officer then places a knee on the teen's blood-soaked back to handcuff him.


The 18-year-old, one of two teenagers shot by police during a dramatic chase, is then left lying in a pool of blood as dozens of stunned bystanders look on.


The teenagers, one just 14, were in a serious condition in St Vincent's Hospital last night.


A taxi driver at the scene told The Sun–Herald he heard the gunshots.
"I thought they must be bad guys. Then I saw it was kids. He looked very young," said the driver, who did not want to be named. "His face looked like a baby, I can't believe it happened right there."
The taxi driver witnessed police administer CPR to one of the two shot. The shooting is now a matter for critical investigation, the fifth launched this month. Three of the cases are linked to police shootings.
NSW police, already on alert to combat a spate of bikie-related shootings in Sydney's south-west, yesterday reached out to the Redfern Aboriginal community for calm.
Christine Nash, a barrister representing the 14-year-old teenager and who has appeared for other members of his family, told reporters outside St Vincent's Hospital yesterday the family had no comment.
Asked if the family thought the actions of police were excessive, she said: "I don't think the family is at the present giving that any thought. However, obviously it is something one would not disagree with that it does appear that way". But she added: "Now is not the time to be making any comments in guessing."
With Redfern elder Mick Mundine by her side, Ms Nash urged witnesses with iPhone footage or photographs to contact them or police. "This has nothing to do with Redfern," she said. "The family do not want any more troubles stirred in Redfern. This happened at Kings Cross. It's totally unrelated."
That the car's occupants are from Redfern is a concern for police. For the area's indigenous community, memories remain of the 2004 riots, when civil unrest erupted in the suburb after the death of Thomas "TJ" Hickey. Coroner John Abernethy found police had followed TJ on his bike before he was impaled on a fence but they were not responsible for the 17-year-old's death. The community blamed police. But Mr Mundine said there should not be any repercussions following the shootings.
"We all know what happened in the past but this happened in the Cross and I think we'll just leave it at that," he said. "Everybody feels pretty sad. We've just got to go through the right protocol now. It's sad, it's a shock, this would shock any family."

Police last night dismissed a Sunday Telegraph report that claimed footage of the aftermath of the shootings showed a policeman raining "savage blows" on the wounded Troy Taylor. Asked about it, Ms Nash, said: "The family don't wish to comment on anything that jeopardises the good relationship with police and the indigenius population in Redfern.
Mr Mundine had said many questions remained unanswered, but: "This has nothing to do with race. It's just an awful thing that happened."