The story of a tragic police officer who took his own life after he was blinded by gunman Raoul Moat has resurfaced after a controversial ITV drama about the killer aired this week.
The Hunt for Raoul Moat is a three-part drama series with Inspector George Gently star Lee Ingleby and former Vera actress Sonya Cassidy taking on the lead roles for the dramatised retelling of the events that shocked the country almost 13 years ago.
Moat had only been out of prison for less than 48 hours when he headed to Birtley in the summer of 2010 to shoot and kill ex Samantha Stobbart's new boyfriend Christopher Brown. He also shot and injured his former partner before fleeing the scene.
The former doorman then shot PC David Rathband in the face in an unprovoked attack as the officer sat in a patrol car in the outskirts of Newcastle, the Mirror reports.Mr Rathband, who was left blinded as a result of his injuries, recalled: "I looked into his eyes and saw nothing — no emotion. Then I felt the pain full-on in my face. I knew my right eye socket had just exploded and my eye had gone."
Moat fled the scene to Northumberland with the help of two accomplices and hid out in the quiet village of Rothbury for a number of days before police captured him.
The killer eventually took his own life following a tense final stand off with police but Moat's crimes continued to impact his victims months after his suicide. PC Rathband was discovered dead in his home in Blythe in February 2012 at the age of 44, just 20 months after the shooting which left him blind.
A coroner went on to rule that the late police officer had killed himself as he struggled to adjust to life with his new disability and a breakdown in his marriage. When examining the causes of Rathband's tragic death, coroner Eric Armstrong said: "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.
"Could I implore them not to carry that out? Decisions were taken which at the time seemed appropriate and were justified at the time." Some of Rathband's loved ones had hoped Armstrong would rule that the late cop's death could have been prevented with the late officer's twin brother Darren going on to blame his sibling's estranged wife and Northumberland police for not offering his brother more support after he was blinded by Moat in 2010.
Rathband killed himself in his home just months after moving out of his marital home after his wife discovered he had been having an affair. He had struck up a romance with a 7/7 London bombing survivor Lisa French which started out on Twitter and resulted in Rathband leaving the home he shared with his wife Kath in August 2011.
An inquest into Rathband's death Newcastle's Moot Hall in 2014 heard how the dad-of-two had threatened to kill himself and told Lisa he had attempted it, but could not go through with it. Rathband's previous affairs were detailed during the hearing which Lisa is said to have previously forgiven but his final dalliance had proven to be the last straw for her.
After Kath decided 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 to tell her that her husband had died. Kath last saw Rathband just hours before he took his own life.
She recalled how she thought her husband 'looked awful' the night of his suicide and knew he needed help so she contacted his sister Debbie and his welfare officer. Later that night, officers broke into his property and found him dead with music still playing on his phone.
Concluding the inquest into Rathband's death in 2014, Armstrong said: "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.
Rathbands estranged wife later issued a statement via a lawyer after the hearing which said: "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 suicide, Rathband had been dedicating his life to charity work before losing his eyesight took it's toll on him.
In an interview with the BBC's disability affairs correspondent Peter White in 2011, he said: "I do feel vulnerable and I'm sure other blind people do. It's not very nice, I don't like it."
He added that being shot had also made him change the way he thought about himself. He said: "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".
Rathband poured himself into starting the Blue Lamp Foundation to help members of the emergency services who had also been injured in the line of duty.
He became a popular national figure and also wrote a book about his experiences prior to his death. Actor Dan Skinner will play Rathband in the ITV series based on Moat's killing rampage in 2010. The Hunt for Raoul Moat begins on Sunday, April 16 at 9pm on ITV1.
It will run over consecutive nights before coming to an end on Tuesday April 18 before a documentary about Moat is set to air the following night.
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