Leeds Spur
Banned
A terrible human tragedy.......
How policeman ÔÇÿhas become MoatÔÇÖs second murder victimÔÇÖ
Russell Jenkins
Last updated March 1 2012 5:57PM
Family and friends believe passionately that Pc David Rathband has become Raoul MoatÔÇÖs second murder victim.
The fugitive gunmanÔÇÖs legacy of pain in the North East did not end on the night when he was cornered beside the River Coquet in Rothbury, Northumberland, and blasted himself with a sawn-off shotgun.
Pc Rathband, hailed by David Cameron as ÔÇ£extraordinarily braveÔÇØ, was the most high profile of many victims, which notably includes the grieving mother and sister of MoatÔÇÖs first murder victim, Chris Brown, 29.
In the two years since July 2010 when Pc Rathband was shot twice in the face and blinded by Moat, who had vowed a murderous rampage against policemen, he sought valiantly to find a life he believed was worth living. Ultimately he decided he could not.
He was found, reportedly hanged, in the neat, modern red-brick home in a quiet cul-de-sac in Blyth, just outside Saudi Sportswashing Machine, where he had been trying to rebuild his life following his separation from his wife Katherine last year. Officers from Northumbria Police were called to the house at 7pm following concern for his welfare.
The last photograph of Pc Rathband shows him lounging on towels in swimming trunks, sunbathing, on a recent trip to Australia where he underwent surgery to remove shrapnel from his face. His fixed smile now appears as a mask.
In hindsight he offered a series of clues that he saw his journey was coming to an end. In one message posted on Twitter he wrote: ÔÇ£lost my sight, my job, my wife and my marriageÔÇØ
Shortly before leaving Australia, he gave a broader hint of what was to come: ÔÇ£Flying back on Monday and will say goodbye to my childrenÔÇØ. Another said simply: ÔÇ£RIP PcRathbandÔÇØ.
Darren Rathband, the late officerÔÇÖs brother, is flying to Britain to ÔÇ£be at his brotherÔÇÖs sideÔÇØ.
He tweeted poignantly: ÔÇ£Some people look like pencils after trauma and loss, on the exterior functioning well, on the inside broken. Do you know any pencils?
ÔÇ£If so please visit one and make sure they are coping; even if they donÔÇÖt answer your calls. That pencil may just snap and be lost foreverÔÇØ.
Sue Sim, the Northumbria Police chief constable, said that they were alerted to Pc RathbandÔÇÖs anguished comments on Twitter on Friday evening. However, he assured welfare officers that he was fine and was simply tired after his journey from Australia.
She said that the force had been working with the officer to help him return to work. They had provided heathcare and welfare support from the night of the shooting.
ÔÇ£We were working with him to bring him back into the organisation,ÔÇØ she said. ÔÇ£He would have been a road safety officer. We were hoping he would be back in the force by April. Everything was driven by him and how he felt.
ÔÇ£My heart and my sympathies go out to Kath, the children and the family. It has been a tragic, tragic issue for his family. He was a fine police officerÔÇØ.
Pc Rathband, 42, was always eloquent about his struggle to cope with constant pain, nightmares and a sense that his life had lost purpose. ÔÇ£Anything would be better than what IÔÇÖve got now,ÔÇØ he told a recent interviewer.
His sudden death has elicited a remarkable outpouring of grief from public figures, politicians, celebrities and the ordinary public.
John OÔÇÖConnor, a former Scotland Yard commander, said: ÔÇ£Here was a man who suffered these appalling injuries, at the end of the day, the consequences were too much for him to live with. He could not bear the consequences.
ÔÇ£We move on but the victims stay with their injuries and their trauma foreverÔÇØ.
David Cameron said: ÔÇ£I feel desperately sorry for his family. I met David, an extraordinarily brave man and, after his horrific injuries he did an enormous amount for charities and for other injured police officers, and for families who lost police officers in the line of duty. He was a very, very brave manÔÇØ.
Meanwhile, Paul Garner, a wellwisher who had completed a sponsored walk beside Pc Rathband, left a bouquet close to the officerÔÇÖs front door.
He said: ÔÇ£David was one of the bravest men I have ever met. He was full of kindness and dignity despite what had happened to him.
ÔÇ£He kept on keeping on as long as he could but it all became too much to take. Now Raoul Moat has killed him too.
ÔÇ£After least now he will be able to get answers, if there is such a place as heaven. He will be able to ask Moat why he did what he did to him, which he was never able to doÔÇØ.
In a witness box giving evidence against MostÔÇÖs accomplices in February last year Pc Rathband recalled how he had been on routine traffic duty on a roundabout on the outskirts of Saudi Sportswashing Machine in the early hours of July 4, 2010.
The day before Moat, a former club doorman, had gone on the run after shooting and injuring his former girlfriend Samantha Stobbart, 22, in Birtley, Saudi Sportswashing Machine, and murdering her new boyfriend Chris Brown, a karate instructor.
Pc Rathband spoke of the flash of white light from MoatÔÇÖs sawn-off shotgun, the intense pain in his face, and the realisation that his right eye was gone. He believed that the second shot was designed to ÔÇ£executeÔÇØ him.
ÔÇ£As I lay in the car, I realised I just had to lie there and literally play dead because it was quite clear Moat wanted me deadÔÇØ.
He described how everything went ÔÇ£very quiet and very darkÔÇØ and the vision of his two children, Ashley, 19, and Mia, 13, came into his mindÔÇÖs eye.
The week-long manhunt ended with MoatÔÇÖs suicide amid something of a carnival atmosphere with Paul Gascoigne brandishing lagers and bucket of chicken. MoatÔÇÖs continued evasion of the law had accorded him a malign celebrity among those who habitually dislike and distrust the police.
Pc Rathband lost his sight in both eyes, his sense of taste and smell and ÔÇ£normal life as I knew itÔÇØ. He told The Sunday Times in a recent interview that the most difficult thing was adjusting to life in the dark with the added burden of post-traumatic stress.
He said: ÔÇ£To this day I cannot drift off to sleep without jumping violently. I get these terrible spasms. I donÔÇÖt sleep well. I have to take sleeping tablets and I get flashbacks of the gun.
ÔÇ£At night when I am alone, I have had issues with hearing voices in the house. I cannot hear what they say. It is like people talking as if you are at a party but there is nobody in here which is quite frighteningÔÇØ.
He also suffered from Charles Bonnet syndrome where he experienced hallucinations. He had nightmare, notably a recurring on where he was being attacked by wild dogs and eaten alive. At times he admitted he felt like he was losing his mind.
Meanwhile, he likened the constant pain in his face to being punched in a very deep, muscular part, very hard.as the day goes on I feel as if my eyes are falling out, it feels swollen. All of my teeth hurt because of the nerve damageI end up scratching my scalp till it bleeds. The glass in there feels like ants crawling over my skull.
As if to try to make some sense of MoatÔÇÖs catastrophic effect on his life, Pc Rathband poured his energies into his charity, the Blue Lamp Foundation, which raises money for emergency service personnel who are injured while on duty. He ran the London marathon and co-wrote his biography, Tango 190.
As the book signings tailed off, and the gaps in his diary loomed large, he found himself in a fresh struggle to find a purpose for living. He became a recluse, shutting himself away in the conservatory for a month placing an insurmountable burden on his marriage which disintegrated in a series of shouting matches.
He was arrested on suspicion of assault in August last year following a report of a domestic incident. The marriage ended badly in bad-tempered round of tit-for-tat tweets.
ÔÇ£The breaking point came when it had all gone quiet,ÔÇØ he admitted later.
His wife Kath was at home last night heavily protected by her husbandÔÇÖs colleagues. Five officers stood outside the house deterring casual callers early today.
Friends at his charity placed a large bouquet of white daisies at the officerÔÇÖs gate. A note read: ÔÇ£David. You are at peace now my friend. Enjoy it.
ÔÇ£You didnÔÇÖt deserve this. You were only doing your job like so many of us do every day.
ÔÇ£These past 19 months have taken us all on a journey. You have been an inspiration. We will continue that journey. And we will look after Kath and the kidsÔÇØ.
How policeman ÔÇÿhas become MoatÔÇÖs second murder victimÔÇÖ
Russell Jenkins
Last updated March 1 2012 5:57PM
Family and friends believe passionately that Pc David Rathband has become Raoul MoatÔÇÖs second murder victim.
The fugitive gunmanÔÇÖs legacy of pain in the North East did not end on the night when he was cornered beside the River Coquet in Rothbury, Northumberland, and blasted himself with a sawn-off shotgun.
Pc Rathband, hailed by David Cameron as ÔÇ£extraordinarily braveÔÇØ, was the most high profile of many victims, which notably includes the grieving mother and sister of MoatÔÇÖs first murder victim, Chris Brown, 29.
In the two years since July 2010 when Pc Rathband was shot twice in the face and blinded by Moat, who had vowed a murderous rampage against policemen, he sought valiantly to find a life he believed was worth living. Ultimately he decided he could not.
He was found, reportedly hanged, in the neat, modern red-brick home in a quiet cul-de-sac in Blyth, just outside Saudi Sportswashing Machine, where he had been trying to rebuild his life following his separation from his wife Katherine last year. Officers from Northumbria Police were called to the house at 7pm following concern for his welfare.
The last photograph of Pc Rathband shows him lounging on towels in swimming trunks, sunbathing, on a recent trip to Australia where he underwent surgery to remove shrapnel from his face. His fixed smile now appears as a mask.
In hindsight he offered a series of clues that he saw his journey was coming to an end. In one message posted on Twitter he wrote: ÔÇ£lost my sight, my job, my wife and my marriageÔÇØ
Shortly before leaving Australia, he gave a broader hint of what was to come: ÔÇ£Flying back on Monday and will say goodbye to my childrenÔÇØ. Another said simply: ÔÇ£RIP PcRathbandÔÇØ.
Darren Rathband, the late officerÔÇÖs brother, is flying to Britain to ÔÇ£be at his brotherÔÇÖs sideÔÇØ.
He tweeted poignantly: ÔÇ£Some people look like pencils after trauma and loss, on the exterior functioning well, on the inside broken. Do you know any pencils?
ÔÇ£If so please visit one and make sure they are coping; even if they donÔÇÖt answer your calls. That pencil may just snap and be lost foreverÔÇØ.
Sue Sim, the Northumbria Police chief constable, said that they were alerted to Pc RathbandÔÇÖs anguished comments on Twitter on Friday evening. However, he assured welfare officers that he was fine and was simply tired after his journey from Australia.
She said that the force had been working with the officer to help him return to work. They had provided heathcare and welfare support from the night of the shooting.
ÔÇ£We were working with him to bring him back into the organisation,ÔÇØ she said. ÔÇ£He would have been a road safety officer. We were hoping he would be back in the force by April. Everything was driven by him and how he felt.
ÔÇ£My heart and my sympathies go out to Kath, the children and the family. It has been a tragic, tragic issue for his family. He was a fine police officerÔÇØ.
Pc Rathband, 42, was always eloquent about his struggle to cope with constant pain, nightmares and a sense that his life had lost purpose. ÔÇ£Anything would be better than what IÔÇÖve got now,ÔÇØ he told a recent interviewer.
His sudden death has elicited a remarkable outpouring of grief from public figures, politicians, celebrities and the ordinary public.
John OÔÇÖConnor, a former Scotland Yard commander, said: ÔÇ£Here was a man who suffered these appalling injuries, at the end of the day, the consequences were too much for him to live with. He could not bear the consequences.
ÔÇ£We move on but the victims stay with their injuries and their trauma foreverÔÇØ.
David Cameron said: ÔÇ£I feel desperately sorry for his family. I met David, an extraordinarily brave man and, after his horrific injuries he did an enormous amount for charities and for other injured police officers, and for families who lost police officers in the line of duty. He was a very, very brave manÔÇØ.
Meanwhile, Paul Garner, a wellwisher who had completed a sponsored walk beside Pc Rathband, left a bouquet close to the officerÔÇÖs front door.
He said: ÔÇ£David was one of the bravest men I have ever met. He was full of kindness and dignity despite what had happened to him.
ÔÇ£He kept on keeping on as long as he could but it all became too much to take. Now Raoul Moat has killed him too.
ÔÇ£After least now he will be able to get answers, if there is such a place as heaven. He will be able to ask Moat why he did what he did to him, which he was never able to doÔÇØ.
In a witness box giving evidence against MostÔÇÖs accomplices in February last year Pc Rathband recalled how he had been on routine traffic duty on a roundabout on the outskirts of Saudi Sportswashing Machine in the early hours of July 4, 2010.
The day before Moat, a former club doorman, had gone on the run after shooting and injuring his former girlfriend Samantha Stobbart, 22, in Birtley, Saudi Sportswashing Machine, and murdering her new boyfriend Chris Brown, a karate instructor.
Pc Rathband spoke of the flash of white light from MoatÔÇÖs sawn-off shotgun, the intense pain in his face, and the realisation that his right eye was gone. He believed that the second shot was designed to ÔÇ£executeÔÇØ him.
ÔÇ£As I lay in the car, I realised I just had to lie there and literally play dead because it was quite clear Moat wanted me deadÔÇØ.
He described how everything went ÔÇ£very quiet and very darkÔÇØ and the vision of his two children, Ashley, 19, and Mia, 13, came into his mindÔÇÖs eye.
The week-long manhunt ended with MoatÔÇÖs suicide amid something of a carnival atmosphere with Paul Gascoigne brandishing lagers and bucket of chicken. MoatÔÇÖs continued evasion of the law had accorded him a malign celebrity among those who habitually dislike and distrust the police.
Pc Rathband lost his sight in both eyes, his sense of taste and smell and ÔÇ£normal life as I knew itÔÇØ. He told The Sunday Times in a recent interview that the most difficult thing was adjusting to life in the dark with the added burden of post-traumatic stress.
He said: ÔÇ£To this day I cannot drift off to sleep without jumping violently. I get these terrible spasms. I donÔÇÖt sleep well. I have to take sleeping tablets and I get flashbacks of the gun.
ÔÇ£At night when I am alone, I have had issues with hearing voices in the house. I cannot hear what they say. It is like people talking as if you are at a party but there is nobody in here which is quite frighteningÔÇØ.
He also suffered from Charles Bonnet syndrome where he experienced hallucinations. He had nightmare, notably a recurring on where he was being attacked by wild dogs and eaten alive. At times he admitted he felt like he was losing his mind.
Meanwhile, he likened the constant pain in his face to being punched in a very deep, muscular part, very hard.as the day goes on I feel as if my eyes are falling out, it feels swollen. All of my teeth hurt because of the nerve damageI end up scratching my scalp till it bleeds. The glass in there feels like ants crawling over my skull.
As if to try to make some sense of MoatÔÇÖs catastrophic effect on his life, Pc Rathband poured his energies into his charity, the Blue Lamp Foundation, which raises money for emergency service personnel who are injured while on duty. He ran the London marathon and co-wrote his biography, Tango 190.
As the book signings tailed off, and the gaps in his diary loomed large, he found himself in a fresh struggle to find a purpose for living. He became a recluse, shutting himself away in the conservatory for a month placing an insurmountable burden on his marriage which disintegrated in a series of shouting matches.
He was arrested on suspicion of assault in August last year following a report of a domestic incident. The marriage ended badly in bad-tempered round of tit-for-tat tweets.
ÔÇ£The breaking point came when it had all gone quiet,ÔÇØ he admitted later.
His wife Kath was at home last night heavily protected by her husbandÔÇÖs colleagues. Five officers stood outside the house deterring casual callers early today.
Friends at his charity placed a large bouquet of white daisies at the officerÔÇÖs gate. A note read: ÔÇ£David. You are at peace now my friend. Enjoy it.
ÔÇ£You didnÔÇÖt deserve this. You were only doing your job like so many of us do every day.
ÔÇ£These past 19 months have taken us all on a journey. You have been an inspiration. We will continue that journey. And we will look after Kath and the kidsÔÇØ.
