NSW Police Sergeant Benedict Bryant to learn fate over death of teenager Jai Kalani Wright in Sydney

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

A police officer who was found to have been driving dangerously when an Aboriginal teenager crashed a trail bike into his unmarked car is set to learn his fate in court.

Sergeant Benedict Bryant, 47, was behind the wheel of an unmarked police car when 16-year-old Jai Kalani Wright was thrown off an allegedly stolen trail bike and hit the vehicle in Alexandria, in Sydney’s inner city, in February 2022.

The teen died of head injuries the following day in hospital.

Now, more than four years later, the sergeant will finally learn his sentence after being found guilty of dangerous driving occasioning death.

Following an emotional District Court trial last year, which much of Jai’s family attended, Sergeant Bryant was found guilty of the charge, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment.

During a harrowing victim impact statement read during a sentencing hearing, Jai’s mother Kylie Aloua said no remorse had been shown or apology offered, however, she did not wish for Bryant to serve a jail sentence.

“I would not wish for your family to live through the loss I have lived through,” she said.

She added she will “never be the same”, and lives in “constant fear” that she could lose another child.

Meanwhile, Jai’s father Lachlan Wright said writing the impacts of his son’s death was one of the hardest things he had ever had to do.

“It’s hard to face my feelings … and the impacts of losing Jai,” he said.

Judge Jane Culver said the loss of Jai was a loss to the community and noted that his family had “suffered greatly”.

A “roadblock”

During the judge-alone trial, the court was told that on the morning of the crash, police were investigating Jai and two other teenagers after they had allegedly stolen two luxury vehicles as well as a trail bike.

Bryant, who was driving an unmarked police vehicle at the time, was called to assist but was given clear instructions that nobody was to pursue the stolen bike.

Meanwhile, Jai rode the trail bike at about 68km/h in a 40km/h zone on Henderson Rd in Eveleigh.

Moments before the collision, Bryant turned right onto the intersection of Henderson Rd and Davy Rd and was coming to a stop as he saw the bike approaching in a bike lane.

He did not activate his lights or sirens as he turned into the intersection.

Jai then hit an obstruction at the end of the bike path and was sent airborne, flying several metres before hitting the windscreen of Bryant’s vehicle while the officers were still inside.

In her reasons late last year, Judge Culver said the Crown had proved beyond reasonable doubt that Bryant drove in a dangerous manner.

She said, during her tense judgment, the Crown had proved that Bryant effectively “established a roadblock” and used his car as a barrier or obstruction without reasonable grounds.

Judge Culver said there was no evidence to suggest the sergeant intended to hurt the teen in any way.

However, she instead found a person of his experience should have known creating the obstacle would pose a real risk of a collision with the bike.

Crown prosecutor Phillip Strickland SC had submitted that Bryant was an experienced police officer of more than 22 years, with the Crown arguing he should have been aware of the potential danger of the road.

While the Crown argued Bryant ought to have known when he created a roadblock that there was “significant risk of serious injury or death” to Jai, the cop’s barrister Brent Haverfield SC argued his client was “carrying out a duty” he was called to.

“He wasn’t pursuing … he was carrying out a function which he had a duty to do, and he made a misjudgment,” he told the court.

The defence also noted that Bryant is of good character, having been on the police force for over two decades, and with no criminal history.

Bryant had also previously admitted he misjudged how fast Jai was travelling.

Permission was given for Jai to be named and pictured by the media during the proceedings.