NSW police officer Benedict Bryant sits in docks as chilling CCTV is played in crash trial

WARNING: This story contains the name of a deceased Indigenous person

More distressing CCTV and dashcam footage of a crash that killed an Aboriginal teenager when the trail bike he was riding crashed into an unmarked police car has been played in court.

Benedict Bryant, 47, was behind the wheel when 16-year-old Jai Kalani Wright rode a stolen trail bike and hit the vehicle in Alexandria, in Sydney’s inner city, on February, 9, 2022.

The teen suffered critical head injuries and died at Prince Alfred hospital the following day.

Sergeant Bryant has been charged with dangerous driving occasioning death.

He attended the Darlinghurst District Court on Tuesday for the second day of his judge-alone trial before Judge Jane Culver.

Dozens of Jai’s family sat in court for the second day of the trial.

A compilation of CCTV footage of Jai and two other teenagers’ movements on the morning of the crash was played in court as Detective Acting Inspector Austen Devereux was questioned by Phillip Strickland SC.

The footage shows Jai, and the two other teens, dressed in hoodies, stealing a luxury black Mercedes from a home in Woollahra as well as the keys to a White BMW.

Later that morning, a trail bike is stolen from a property in Dulwich Hill, with a witness capturing an image of Jai before he rides away.

The court was told a police operator had asked officers to assist police on Henderson Rd in apprehending the teenager but instructed that no one was to pursue the stolen bike.

Jai is then seen on CCTV riding the stolen trail bike about 68km/h down a bike lane on Henderson Rd in Eveleigh.

The court was told that moments before, Sergeant Bryant turned right onto the intersection of Henderson Rd and Davy Rd and was coming to a stop when he saw the bike approaching.

He did not activate his lights or sirens as he turned into the intersection, the court was told.

Harrowing CCTV footage from a nearby post office in Alexandria is then played that shows the crash.

As Jai came to the end of the bike lane, he was sent cartwheeling through the air several metres before he crashed into the windscreen of Sergeant Bryant’s vehicle while the officers were still inside the car.

Distressing dashcam footage from another sergeant’s vehicle was then played to the court that showed the moments following the crash.

Jai is seen lying on the road in distress as people rush over to assist him.

Polair vision then shows debris strewn across the road in the moments following the crash, with Jai’s shoe thrown across the intersection and damage to the front of Sergeant Bryant’s police vehicle.

Footage from a doorbell camera from a nearby home was also played to the court, and while nothing could be seen in the footage, the audio itself was distressing.

Several people gasped and cried out in court as they heard what appeared to be the revving of the trail bike, followed by a loud bang.

Others left the courtroom altogether.

Sergeant Bryant himself appeared distressed as he watched the footage from the docks and bowed his head at several points.

‘They wouldn’t stop’

Dashcam footage from another sergeant’s police vehicle shows Jai riding the trail bike down Henderson Rd just moments before the crash.

The officer stops as Jai approaches, however, the teen swerves at the last moment, revving the bike loudly and veering onto the nearby bike path.

On Tuesday afternoon, Senior Constable Bradley Mcintyre was called to give evidence, and told the court he began following the Mercedes and the trail bike in Newtown, but kept a distance, on the morning of the crash.

“The intention was to wait for them to stop … and to go and speak with them,” he said.

Constable Mcintyre said the reason he kept his distance, and didn’t active his sirens or lights, was because he didn’t want the teens to know they were being followed.

“I wanted them to think that we weren’t a police car, they would probably take off if they knew we were a police car,” he told the court.

Mr Strickland asked the officer if he had been involved with many ‘Sweetenham targets’, – a NSW Police Strikeforce formed to investigate juveniles that have stolen high powered vehicles – to which he answered he had.

“What was your experience as to whether they would stop for police?” Mr Strickland asked.

“They wouldn’t stop for police … in my experience,” Constable Mcintyre said.

“And did that experience inform how you drove that day?” Mr Strickland asked.

“Yes,” the officer replied.

Meanwhile, the court was told on Monday in opening addresses that Sergeant Bryant was an “experienced police officer” of more than 22 years service.

“He ought to have been aware of the potential danger of the road,” Crown prosecutor Phillip Strickland SC said.

There is a yellow barrier at the end of the cycleway with two bollards on it that obstructs bikes and directs them to the nearby footpath, the court was told.

However, Sergeant Bryant’s barrister Brent Haverfield told the court that it was their case that the other police officer who was also stopped at the intersection at the same time created the roadblock that caused Jai to “negotiate his way into the path of a vehicle that he couldn’t see coming”.

In a police interview after the incident, Sergeant Bryant said he believed the end of the bike path was “solid”, and Jai was going to have to “shoot up left”, which is why when Sergeant Bryant got around the corner he came to a stop.

He also said the speed of the trail bike “surprised him”.

The trial continues.