A female police officer was set on fire during the Ely riots, a court heard on Friday, as a judge sentenced 30 people to a total of nearly 140 years in custody for the violence that erupted three years ago.
The night of mayhem in May 2023 was sparked by the deaths of Kyrees Sullivan, 16, and Harvey Evans, 15, after their e-bike crashed in the Cardiff suburb. Around 150 people turned out, blaming police – whose van had been seen driving behind the pair earlier – for the teenagers' deaths.
“Rioters who set a policewoman on fire in Cardiff's Ely riots received a total of nearly 140 years in custody.”
One defendant, Lee-Martin McQuade, 30, helped prepare petrol bombs, one of which was thrown at officers and set a policewoman on fire. Shouting abuse at police, McQuade accused them of killing the two boys, called officers “rapists”, and urged the crowd to “hit Ely police station” with petrol bombs. He was sentenced to six years and four months – reduced from a potential eight years because he pleaded guilty.
Liam Black, 21, received six years and nine months in a young offenders' institution for throwing fireworks at police, burning a plank of wood, and encouraging others to throw objects. Connor O'Sullivan, 27, was jailed for five years after throwing missiles including a brick, joining the crowd in throwing a door at officers, and chanting “come on, come on boys – any more?” and “Ely gang, Ely gang” on a live stream.
All three, along with four other defendants, were sentenced for rioting. Four who were under 18 at the time received community orders.
Tensions ran high in the public gallery, where some wore turquoise t-shirts bearing the faces of Sullivan and Evans with the words “three years of missing you both”. The judge had to clear the area.
At the end of her sentencing, Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke praised the hundreds of officers who worked that night. “They risked their safety in a very dangerous and very volatile situation – I commend them for their dedication to duty.”