Sentencing of officer Benedict Bryant a rare moment of accountability

Lachlan Wright says driving to the hospital to see his son was "one of the hardest things I've ever done". (ABC News: Shaun Kingma)

Inside a quiet district courtroom in the heart of Sydney's bustling CBD, a historic moment has unfolded involving a NSW Police officer.

Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this story contains the image of a person who has died.

On Friday, Benedict Bryant was sentenced to two years imprisonment over a collision that caused the death of 16-year-old Dhungutti boy Jai Kalani Wright in 2022.

As Judge Culver read out the words "two years' imprisonment", Jai's family gasped with shock, while others were silent, wiping their tears.

Bryant avoided time behind bars and will serve his sentence through an intensive corrections order which includes 500 hours of unpaid community service. He was also disqualified from driving for the next three years.

Jai Wright's father Lachlan said: "a conviction is a conviction, no matter what." (ABC News: Jamie McKinnell)

For some, it was disappointing, but for Jai's parents it was a relief.

"It was never about a sentence," Jai's father Lachlan Wright said.

"A conviction is a conviction, no matter what. That's a big thing for a judge to have judged."

Bryant is believed to be the first police officer convicted of a crime related to a Black death in custody — a crisis that is not new.

A landmark report delivered 35 years ago by a Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody gave the government solutions to address this.

There's a harrowing story behind why the Royal Commission was established and it starts with the death of a young boy, similar in age to Jai Wright.

John Pat was a 16-year-old Yindjibarndi boy from Roebourne, Western Australia, who died in a juvenile police cell in 1983.

He was taken there after a fight broke out at a local pub between Aboriginal people and off-duty police officers, as well as a police aide.

Pat had suffered serious injuries after falling backwards and hitting his head during the incident. But instead of going to hospital, he was taken to the police station, where witnesses say he was assaulted and dragged to a cell.

The four officers and the police aide stood trial for manslaughter in WA's supreme court, with an all-white jury acquitting them of any wrongdoing.

No disciplinary action was taken and they all returned to work.

John Pat was remembered as someone who loved his culture and family. ( ABC News: Jesmine Cheong )

The anguish and distrust of police John Pat's family felt rippled across the nation and the