Mark wins Police Bravery Award
15 July 2022
An off-duty West Midlands Police officer who tackled a knife-wielding thug after he stabbed a man outside school gates has won a regional award at the 2022 Police Bravery Awards.
Detective Constable Mark Bates was accompanied by his wife Laura and the couple joined fellow nominees from across the country at a Downing Street reception hosted by Home Secretary Priti Patel who praised their “incredible courage”.
He and the other winners then received their prestigious awards at a presentation ceremony at a central London hotel later that evening. Mark was joined at the awards by West Midlands Police Federation chair Rich Cooke and Chief Constable Dave Thompson.
Mark insists he was “just doing my job” when he leapt into action to disarm and detain the attacker and said he was amazed when he won the prestigious award.
He said: “This is honestly amazing. I really didn’t expect anything like this. It feels absolutely amazing. To be honest with you, at the end of the day, all I did was tackle him and arrest him. It feels amazing and thankful to be acknowledged.
“I know I was off duty but I just acted instinctively as any police officer would. It’s my duty to protect the public at whatever cost to me and I would do the same again.
“As a police officer you are never really off duty and you should step up in these situations because the public rely on you to do that.”
DC Mark Bates (centre) with Kerry McMahon-White and national Federation chair Steve Hartshorn.
The shocking incident began to unfold when two men and a woman, who were drinking alcohol and smoking cannabis, started abusing parents as they waited for their children outside Water Orton School on 1 July last year.
A man approached the group to ask them to stop but he was attacked by Kyle Youlden (21) who stabbed him in the arm before running off.
DC Bates and the injured victim gave chase and caught up with Youlden with the officer disarming him and pinning him down until officers from Warwickshire Police arrived to provide back-up.
He then went in search of the other man and woman who had been causing trouble at the school gates and, after a brief chase, detained and disarmed the other male suspect who was also found to be in possession of a knife.
West Midlands Police Federation chair Rich said: “It was a privilege and an honour to accompany Mark to the Police Bravery Awards.
“He has played down his role in this incident but the fact is his brave actions could well have prevented loss of life or serious injury to members of the public.
“He didn’t think twice about intervening and tackling a man armed with a knife and in doing so showed great courage and determination.
“Officers like Mark will always say they were just doing their jobs but he is a credit to West Midlands Police. We are very proud of him and he should be very proud of himself.”
Speaking at the reception in Downing Street, Ms Patel told nominees: “I am delighted to be able to celebrate with you, once again, the incredible courage of a remarkable group of police officers.
“Your work involves an extraordinary degree of sacrifice that should never be taken for granted. These awards play an important part in ensuring your deeds are recognised.
“I would like to thank the organisers of the 2022 awards, the Police Federation, and Police Mutual for their continued support for the event.”
The officers also received warm praise and thanks from Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
He said: “These acts of bravery, honoured here today by your colleagues and the public, are outstanding and in the finest traditions of policing. I salute each and every one of the fantastic nominees at the awards. You are truly the best of the very best.
“It is absolutely right and proper that we honour and celebrate the work of our brave men and women in uniform who work day in and day out to protect the public.
“The progress we are making towards recruiting 20,000 more officers gives me full confidence that together we will make our streets safer. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.”
Police Federation national chair Steve Hartshorn said: “We have heard extraordinary stories of bravery, selflessness and acts of courage that are not just part of the job.
“The bravery shown by these nominees is truly outstanding. From putting their own lives at risk to save others, facing violent attackers and terrifying weapons, to rescuing people from perilous situations in fast flowing water or stranded hundreds of feet in the air, they have faced danger head on.”
The annual bravery awards are organised by thePolice Federation and sponsored by Police Mutual.
This year's overall winner was Lincolnshire Police’s PC Steven Denniss who was stabbed as he tackled a double murder suspect he has spotted while off duty and out walking his dogs.
