A fundraiser has been launched to support Sergeant Benedict Bryant, the Sydney police officer, recently found guilty of dangerous driving causing death, after an Indigenous teen riding a stolen bike collided with his parked vehicle.

The campaign was established by retired NSW Police Chief Inspector Paul Fownes APM OAM to help cover Bryant’s legal costs. This is the second fundraiser Fownes has organised for Bryant. The first campaign, which raised over $57,000, was removed by the hosting platform within 24 hours, and all donations were refunded. The platform cited a violation of its Terms of Service—specifically Section 8.10, which prohibits fundraisers for the legal defence of crimes, including murder, assault, or offences against minors.

Bryant, who has served on Sydney’s frontline since 1999, has worked at Redfern since 2008, caring for vulnerable community members and mentoring young officers while confronting situations most would find overwhelming. The legal matter has already placed a significant financial strain on him and his young family. The recent court ruling introduces additional costs as he seeks to clear his name and avoid more severe consequences.

Bryant supports his wife, two children, and his mother-in-law, who suffers from advanced dementia. He has personally spent approximately $130,000 on legal expenses, with appeals and potential retrials expected to cost many more thousands.

According to the campaign, “Sergeant Bryant could not afford to pay for the added cost of a jury trial in the first instance, due to the added length of such a trial and the possibility of a mistrial.

“The PANSW have advised they intend to provide some ongoing assistance towards the appeal as the case and verdict impacts the entire membership. Nonetheless, Ben’s personal legal costs will be significant.”

The fundraiser provides the following details about Bryant’s case:

On 28 November 2025, I sat in a Sydney Courtroom and witnessed a travesty of justice take place with Sergeant Ben Bryant sitting in the dock, convicted for simply doing the job he so loves – protecting the community, supporting his colleagues and trying to arrest offenders fleeing police after a crime spree affecting vulnerable families asleep in their homes. 

In the early hours of 19 February 2022, three offenders broke into several homes and stole two high-performance vehicles. Shortly after, they stole a trailbike parked within a unit complex car park.

About 7am, police spotted the stolen vehicles in Alexandria, driving in convoy with the stolen trailbike. In an effort to avoid apprehension, the trailbike rider accelerated harshly and rode along a marked bicycle lane at high speed to a point where the lane deviated and continued to the left.

Rather than following the marked directional arrow to leave the bike path, the rider of the stolen trailbike continued straight and mounted the reinforced concrete and hard plastic barrier at the end of the lane, which was also clearly marked with tall vertical bollards. The rider and bike became air-borne, travelled several meters through the air and collided with Sergeant Bryant’s vehicle as it was coming to stop on the opposite side of the bike lane near to where another unmarked vehicle had already stopped.

Sergeant Bryant immediately rendered aid but despite his best efforts and the care of medical staff, the rider did not survive the collision. Though this was a traumatic and tragic accident for everyone involved, Sergeant Bryant was simply performing his duty as a police officer. He did not foresee the rider travelling at such speed, disobeying the directional arrows, hitting the raised kerbing at the end of the bike lane, becoming airborne and colliding with his vehicle. But it’s what happened next that is beyond belief!

Over the next year, the NSWPF and Department of Public Prosecutions conducted a full review into the matter, overseen by the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission and the NSW Police Force Crash Investigations Unit. Sergeant Bryant was cleared of all matters and was advised that no criminal prosecution was forthcoming.

In January 2024, a coronial inquest was commenced to find ways to prevent similar occurrences in the future. On the first day of the inquest, the Coroner, Theresa O’Sullivan – whose personal priority is preventing Indigenous deaths in custody – re-referred the matter to the DPP.

When the matter was referred a second time to the DPP for re-examination, the entire court room of the deceased’s supporters and activists rose to their feet to clap and cheer the coroner’s decision.

On 18 February 2024 – the date the charge of Negligent Driving Causing Death was to pass its statute of limitations – the DPP served charge paperwork on Sergeant Bryant for the strictly indictable offence of Dangerous Driving Causing Death, and a backup offence of Negligent Driving Causing Death.

After many delays due to the Downing Centre flooding, Sergeant Bryant’s matter was heard in a judge-alone trial between August and September 2025. On 28 November 2025, Sergeant Bryant was convicted of the Dangerous Driving offence. Judge Culver found that although Sergeant Bryant had no intention to collide with the rider and honestly believed the trailbike would not traverse the barrier at the end of the terminating bike lane, his belief was not reasonably held as an officer of his experience and ought to have foreseen this as a possibility. Judge Culver acknowledged Sergeant Bryant had seconds to make this decision but came to the view his decision was dangerous and should not have been made in the circumstances. 

Judge Culver ordered a pre-sentence report in advance of sentencing which is scheduled for April 2025.  

You can view the fundraiser and donate by clicking here.