ST. JOHN’S, Newfoundland and Labrador, May 06, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The dedicated police officers who work so hard to take impaired drivers off the roads in Newfoundland and Labrador are being recognized with a new award program from MADD Canada and named in honour a local victim of impaired driving.
The Nick Coates Awards will honour Newfoundland and Labrador police officers who are taking impaired drivers off provincial roads and highways, and making communities safer for all. Officers who have taken a minimum of 12 impaired drivers off the roads during the previous year will receive the Gold Award. Officers who have taken at least 8 impaired drivers off the roads during the previous year will receive the Silver Award. Officers will also receive certificates and special commemorative challenge coins.
In this inaugural year, 16 officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC) will receive Nick Coates Awards at a special ceremony on May 9th.
Media are invited to attend the ceremony and speak with special guests and award recipients.
| Date: | Thursday, May 9, 2019 at 2 p.m. |
| Location: | RCMP Headquarters, 100 E White Hills Rd, St. John's, NL A1A 3T5 |
| Guests: | Terry Coates, father of Nick Coates RCMP Assistant Commissioner Ches Parsons RNC Chief Joe Boland Dawn Regan, Chief Operating Officer, MADD Canada |
Named after Nick Coates, the new award program serves to honour Nick’s memory and the memory of all victims of impaired driving. Nick was killed by an impaired driver in St. John’s in August 2013. He was riding his motorcycle back from a work meeting when he was hit by a pickup truck. Nick died in hospital later that day. He was just 27 years old. The driver who hit Nick had been drinking the night before and the morning of the crash.
MADD Canada thanks the Coates family, the RCMP and the RNC for their support in creating this annual awards program.