Son of Nottingham Attack Victim Condemns Police Failures in Emotional Inquiry Testimony
The son of a school caretaker murdered during the 2023 Nottingham attacks has delivered scathing criticism of police failures during his testimony at the official public inquiry. James Coates, whose father Ian Coates was stabbed to death by paranoid schizophrenic Valdo Calocane, stated he cannot comprehend how officers involved could sleep at night knowing their actions might have prevented the tragedy.
Missed Opportunities and Preventable Deaths
Ian Coates, aged 65, was fatally stabbed by Calocane more than an hour after the killer had already murdered two 19-year-old undergraduates, Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, in the early hours of June 13, 2023. Following the stabbing, Calocane stole Mr Coates' van and used it to run over three pedestrians, seriously injuring them before being apprehended.
"We had drone units that went out and weren't even taken out of their boxes, we had helicopters not called on," James Coates told the inquiry. "No search was conducted properly, and all of these things could have stopped my dad and the three survivors that got hit by his van from being hurt."
Calocane subsequently admitted manslaughter and attempted murder charges and has been indefinitely detained at a high-security hospital. The inquiry has heard extensive evidence about multiple systemic failures that allowed the violent rampage to occur.
Police Response Criticised as Inadequate
James Coates revealed he learned about his father's death through an Instagram message from a family friend, not through official police channels. He described initially dismissing the message as a hoax before the devastating reality became clear.
"It wasn't until 3pm that I was walking up the road to my house that I decided to check Instagram," he testified. "I'd not got notifications on, but I got a message from a family friend saying 'I can't believe what's happened to your dad, please ring me.'"
The family received their first official contact from Nottinghamshire Police just ten minutes before former chief constable Kate Meynell conducted a press conference informing Nottingham residents about the attacks. By that time, the Coates family had already pieced together the tragedy through social media and news reports.
Systemic Failures Acknowledged by Senior Officers
Rob Griffin, who served as Nottinghamshire Police's assistant chief constable during the attacks, acknowledged to the inquiry that the search for Calocane after the initial murders should have been conducted more effectively. Julian Blake, counsel to the inquiry, highlighted specific failures including:
- No effective coordination of the search operation
- No zoning of search areas
- No helicopter deployment despite availability
- Drones not being utilized from their containers
Mr Griffin agreed that chances of locating Calocane before he attacked Ian Coates would have been greater with a more effective search operation.
Broader Systemic Issues Revealed
The inquiry has uncovered multiple failures across police and healthcare systems. Ian Coates' body remained at the crime scene for nearly fifteen hours while police conducted investigations. Medical professionals have also faced scrutiny, with evidence revealing that Calocane should have been arrested before the fatal stabbings occurred.
An email from a consultant forensic psychiatrist, presented to the inquiry, described Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust's decision to discharge paranoid schizophrenic Calocane to a GP as "never a good plan."
Legacy and Calls for Change
Lee Coates, another son of Ian Coates, told the inquiry he found former chief constable Meynell's television claims that officers were "doing everything for the bereaved families" to be rude and disingenuous. "She'd personally not made any contact with us," he stated. "We'd had to fight to find out information about our dad."
Ian Coates had been just months away from retirement when he was killed. His sons hope the inquiry will lead to meaningful systemic changes that prevent similar tragedies.
"If we can implement some sort of systemic change that will help and that no one else ever has to be in the position of myself, my brothers and the other families are in," Lee Coates said. "I think with my dad's legacy, it'll be way more than just this inquiry. He was way more than just an inquiry. He was a top person, respected in the community."
The public inquiry continues to examine the circumstances surrounding the Nottingham attacks that claimed three lives and injured three others, with families of victims seeking accountability and systemic improvements to prevent future tragedies.
