A jury at the inquest of Raoul Moat, who died after shooting himself in the head with a sawn-off shotgun following a stand-off with police in Britain last year, has returned a unanimous verdict of suicide.
Police fired shotgun Tasers at Moat as he prepared to kill himself in Rothbury, Northumberland, in July last year, but the round had no effect on him, the three-week inquest at Newcastle Crown Court heard today.
The 37-year-old ex-doorman shot himself in the head in Rothbury, Northumberland, after being hit by a shotgun Taser round fired by police marksmen.
Moat was on the run after shooting his ex-girlfriend Sam Stobbart, executing her new boyfriend Chris Brown and then blinding Pc David Rathband after declaring war on police.
Meanwhile, a police watchdog has cleared officers involved in the death of Moat of any wrongdoing.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) investigated the police response to the crisis from the moment the gunman was first sighted in Rothbury, Northumberland, to him being pronounced dead in hospital almost seven hours later.
Investigators supported Northumbria Police’s decision to use unauthorised shotgun Tasers during the six hour stand-off on the banks of the River Coquet.
But the force could have done better when it came to recording the stand-off, the IPCC said. Vital evidence was lost as a negotiator tried with mixed success to tape the final dialogue on a hand-held Dictaphone in the rain.
The inquest heard how police chiefs believed the Taser weaponry, never used before in the UK, offered the one chance to bring in Moat alive.
IPCC Commissioner Nicholas Long said: “This was a police operation on an unprecedented scale.
“Northumbria Police were co-ordinating the search for a man who had killed one person, seriously injured two others and had expressed his intent to kill police officers and members of the public. This proved a hugely challenging situation for all officers involved.
“It is apparent from all the evidence collected in our investigation that the primary objective of the police was to try to preserve Raoul Moat’s life.”
He said that in such a dynamic and fast-moving operation, decisions would be made that did not always comply with recognised policies and procedures.
Northumbria police had displayed a “clear rationale” behind its decision to deploy the Tasers, and had sought legal advice.
“The force believed their intention to use whatever means they had to try to capture Moat alive overrode any questions of authorisation.
“It is recognised that given Moat’s clearly expressed intentions to harm himself and others, the XRep did present an opportunity to use non-lethal force to stop him.”
He said it was not possible to remove one of the firearms teams from the situation for training in how to use the Tasers.
The best available option had been to give the X12 Tasers to shotgun-trained officers.
The two West Yorkshire Police officers deployed with the XRep Tasers had tried to prevent Moat from shooting himself.
They each fired a single shot, one of which hit Moat a “glancing blow” as he raised the sawn-off shotgun to his temple. This had not caused Moat to shoot himself involuntarily.
The investigation concluded that while there may be some lessons for Northumbria Police to learn, there was no evidence that any police officers committed misconduct.
PA