Tragic story of Raoul Moat victim PC David Rathband who was shot in face and blinded

dailyrecord.co.uk:

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.