A Federation member has been nominated for the national bravery awards after showing exceptional leadership in rioting last summer, during what was ‘the most challenging night’ of his career.
Sergeant Stu Coates will be representing Northumbria Police at the national Police Bravery Awards this year following his key role responding to the riots in Sunderland on the evening of Friday 2 August 2024, which seriously threatened public safety throughout its duration.
With nine years so far in charge of the Force’s mounted section and a strong background in public order management, Stu was involved in much of the police’s event preparation.
Sergeant Stu Coates.
While this planning was comprehensive, it was also whipped into shape in a short period of time due to a quick mobilisation of protest groups through social media.
However, no organisers could be identified ahead of time, something Stu described as an ‘obvious red flag’.
And when he and his five other colleagues on horseback joined foot officers and a dog section at the designated meeting point, Keel Square, at around 7pm, his concerns were immediately validated.
Intimidating
“There was a different, unusual feel to the night straight away. It felt tense and intimidating to be around the crowd forming in the square, in a way I hadn’t really experienced before in my long career,” Stu recalled.
“From there, things got violent and animated pretty quickly, both generally and towards us.
“They seemed so ready to just escalate to confronting police from the off, rather than as a reaction to something we’d done. We had bottles and bricks thrown at us – and that was bad enough – but I was then hit around the head with a large concrete block.
“It wasn’t something I would want to relive, and when you look at the damage my helmet took, it’s definitely fair to say it saved my life that day.”
Despite the impact of this incident, Stu continued his duties undeterred as it became apparent where the crowd would be heading.
A bridge leading to a heavily populated Asian community and a nearby mosque was the main direction of travel, as violence took on new forms with fireworks used as missiles and damage inflicted on properties such as off-licence shops.
Riot
“We don’t tend to use the word ‘riot’ very often, but on this night it was appropriate. It’s what I said when I shouted over my radio for assistance in the city,” he continued.
“I instructed my unit to get ahead and halt the crowd’s progress, and we were making a noticeable difference, but were also very isolated until the officers on the ground could catch up to us.
“So, for this period, there were six of us against a crowd of several hundred.”
Together with his mounted colleagues, Stu – who was riding on police horse Patronus –
managed to turn the tide on the demonstrators just in the nick of time, on the road to the mosque itself.
On-foot back-up then began to arrive, and Stu continued to lead the tactical positioning of officers and police vans as part of efforts which saw the mosque held securely.
Disorder eventually subsided in this location, but information of more disturbances back towards Keel Square then emerged with officers under attack.
Set alight
“In the time we had been away from the city centre, it had become so smoky. Waterloo Police Station and a number of police vehicles had been set alight.
“I know Sunderland very well, but it was like something from an apocalyptic film, and that’s when it truly hit me how unprecedented this all was. I ended up leading a charge to disperse a crowd on Gilbridge Avenue, and we later ran more groups down to the bottom of the city.
“It got to about 11pm when things started to return to some kind of normality, although more police were then attacked, and it was only at midnight that we went into full stand-by.
“I got to the end and I knew I’d just had, without a doubt, the most challenging night of my career.”
Now, Stu is set to be recognised for his heroics that night at the National Bravery Awards ceremony, which will be held in London, this summer.
While the cop of 28 years labelled his nomination as ‘really humbling’, he maintained that a high level of courage could be found across every member of the mounted section.
“Make no mistake about it – this was a team effort, between officers, horses, and everyone else behind the scenes like trainers and groomers,” he said.
Bravery Awards
“We may be a small team, but we make a huge impact. When we’re moving dynamically as a unit, we’re a formidable presence and we’ll eventually halt the momentum of public disorder.
“But that doesn’t happen without a lot of hard work and courage. Part of my job is to put my team in harm’s way, and throughout the night, they didn’t question me once.
“They were amazing and deserve just as much credit as me.”
Commending Stu ahead of this year’s award, branch chair Nick Munnelly said: “While Stu may have plenty of public order experience behind him, he still required a huge amount of courage, bravery, calmness and professionalism, as he policed what were unique and unprecedented circumstances.
“In uncertain times for the entire country during the riots last summer, his actions not only kept many members of the public safe, but also his colleagues as police attempted to contain a situation which threatened to get out of control.
“Not only did Stu put his own safety on the line to protect the public, he took it upon himself to step up and be a leader.
“He is exactly the type of officer the Force needed then – and will always need. He absolutely deserves this recognition, and we wish him all the luck in the world at this year’s national Police Bravery Awards.
“Everyone at Northumbria Police Federation is very proud of him.”
READ MORE: Copped Enough – hard-hitting police campaign exposes police pay crisis.