Tragedy of police officer who killed himself after being shot by Raoul Moat
The story of a a police officer who took his own life after being blinded by gunman Raoul Moat has resurfaced amid a controversial ITV drama set to premiere this weekend.
The Hunt for Raoul Moat, a three part drama series that begins this Sunday, will see actors Inspector George Gently star Lee Ingleby and former Vera actress Sonya Cassidy in lead roles for the dramatised retelling of the events that shocked the country over a decade ago.
Moat, less than 48 hours after being released from prison, headed to Birtley in the summer of 2010 to shoot and kill ex Samantha Stobbart's new boyfriend Christopher Brown; also shooting and injuring Samantha, before fleeing the scene.
The former doorman then shot and blinded PC David Rathband as he sat in a patrol car on the outskirts of Newcastle, before fleeing the scene to Northumberland with the help of two accomplices and hiding out in the quiet village of Rothbury for a number of days.
"I looked into his eyes and saw nothing — no emotion. Then I felt the pain full-on in my face," explained Rathband after the shooting.
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"I knew my right eye socket had just exploded and my eye had gone."
Moat eventually took his own life following a tense final stand-off with the police, but the killer's rampage continued to impact victims months on from his suicide.
Raoul Moat's shooting spree claimed the life of one person and injured several people in 2010 (PA)
David Rathband took his own life less than two years on from the gunman blinding him during the rampage (PA)Rathband, the police officer who was shot by Moat was found dead in his home in Blythe February 2012 at the age of 44, 20 months after he was injured while on duty.
A coroner went on to rule that the late police officer had killed himself because he couldn't cope with his new disability and a breakdown in his marriage.
"Many people may look back, police officers and others, and with the benefit of hindsight, form the view that they wish they could have done something else," the coroner, Eric Armstrong, said when examining the causes of Rathband's tragic death.
"Could I implore them not to carry that out? Decisions were taken which at the time seemed appropriate and were justified at the time."
Darren, David's twin brother, thinks his sibling's death could have been prevented (PA)Some of Rathband's loved ones had hoped Armstrong would rule the late police officer's death could have been prevented - with Rathband's twin brother Darren placing blame on his sibling's estranged wife and Northumberland police for not supporting his brother after being blinded by Moat in 2010.
Rathband was found hanging in his home in Northumberland in February 2012, just months after moving out of his marital home following his wife discovering he had been having an affair.
The late police officer had struck up a romance with 7/7 London bombing survivor Lisa French, which began on Twitter and resulted in Rathband leaving the home he shared with his wife Kath in August 2011.
An inquest into Rathband's death at Newcastle's Moot Hall in 2014 heard how Rathband had made threats to kill himself and told Lisa he had attempted to hang himself but could not go through with it.
Matthew Stokoe tells of toll taken by Raoul Moat role in controversial drama
Rathband with wife Kath and son Ashley arriving to give evidence at the Moat case in Newcastle (PA Wire/Press Association Images)Rathband's previous affairs were detailed during the hearing, with it heard how Lisa had previously forgiven her husband's extra-martial relationships but his dalliance with Lisa had proven to be the final straw for her.
Following Kath's decision to end their marriage, Rathband went on to attempt to contact his estranged wife several times a day - even once pretending to be a police officer calling to tell her that her husband had died.
Kath last saw Rathband just hours before he took his own life.
She recalled thinking her estranged husband "looked awful" the night of his suicide and knew he needed support so contacted his sister Debbie Essery and his welfare officer.
Later the same evening, following Kath's visit to Rathband's home, officers broke into his property and found him hanging in the darkness, with music playing from his phone.
Rathband set up a charity prior to his death (AFP/Getty Images)"Sadly I have to say I am drawn inescapably to the conclusion that David intended to take his own life." It was not a "cry for help", said Armstrong at the inquest into Rathband's death in 2014.
Rathband's estranged wife issued a statement via a lawyer after the hearing which read: "David fought so hard to come to terms with the devastating injuries that resulted from the shooting and the effect it had on us all as a family.
"Whilst I have lost David, he has left me with two amazing children and he would be immensely proud of them and what they have achieved, as I am."
Prior to his death, Rathband had admitted he was lucky to be alive and had been dedicating his life to charity work.
But losing his eyesight understandably took its tool and the brave police officer grew impatient with having to relearn things that were previously so easy to do.
Matt Stokoe, who plays killer Moat in the ITV drama set to begin this Sunday (ITV STUDIOS)"I do feel vulnerable and I'm sure other blind people do," Rathband said in an interview with the BBC's disability affairs correspondent Peter White in 2011. "It's not very nice, I don't like it."
He added that being shot had also changed the way he thought about himself.
"I think somebody gave me a Superman vest because I always thought I was invincible and now I realise that having been shot in the face and nigh on killed, I'm not invincible, I am just very lucky," he admitted.
Rathband poured himself into starting the Blue Lamp Foundation to help members of the emergency services who were also injured in the line of duty.
He also wrote a book about his experiences and became a popular national figure prior to his passing in 2012.
Actor Dan Skinner will play Rathband in the ITV series based on Moat's rampage in 2010.
The Hunt for Raoul Moat starts on ITV1 on Sunday, April 16 at 9pm.
The drama will run over consecutive nights, wrapping up on Tuesday, April 18, before a documentary about Moat airs the following night.
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