TANGO 190: Raoul Moat, the Gateshead shootings and me
by PC David Rathband
to be published by Biteback July 2011
978-184954-153-4
256pp hardback, £15.99
“In my world the word hero is way over-used. In the real world, it’s the absolute minimum requirement for PC David Rathband.”
ALAN SHEARER
“PC David Rathband’s detailed step-by-step description from the life changing moment he was shot at close range in the face to how he survived with great determination and courage to face the future, is emotional and traumatic. Yet his courage and humour in not only looking forward to life without sight but also forming the Blue Lamp Foundation is uplifting and inspiring. If you read only one book this year, read this one. I highly recommend it.”
DUNCAN BANNATYNE OBE
This is PC David Rathband’s personal account of his wounding by gunman Raoul Moat, last summer. PC Rathband was blinded when Moat shot him in the face at point blank range as he sat in his patrol car on 4th July 2010. Twenty-four hours earlier Moat had shot his ex-partner Samantha Stobbart, 22, and killed her lover, Chris Brown, in Gateshead. The shootings sparked the largest police manhunt in British history, dominated the headlines and became one of the biggest and most controversial news stories of 2010. It ended with a stand-off between Moat and armed police on a river bank in the small Northumberland town of Rothbury, and the death of the former night club doorman.
The book – which will be published this coming July to mark the first anniversary of the shootings – is Rathband’s personal account of the attack and the events surrounding it, including his attendance of the trials of Moat’s henchmen. It is also the story of his physical recuperation and the gradual and courageous rebuilding of his life, with the help of his family, in the wake of terrible injuries sustained in the line of duty.
David says: “This is my story told in full and in my own words for the first time. When I joined the police force I did it to make a difference. Little did I know that on the 4th July 2010 my life would change forever and I would become involved in the biggest manhunt since the Yorkshire Ripper.
“I broke down many times telling my story. From the sheer random brutality of the crime to the medical journey, from tormenting hallucinations in the immediate aftermath of that day to the final acceptance that I was now blind, this story has everything.
“My previous with Moat convinced me I was targeted, and then when my own employer withheld information from me after the shooting, I spiralled into fear and depression. Six months later, with Moat a constant in my night time dreams, I watched the trial of his accomplices unravel into a comedy of lies and deceit that bore more resemblance to a movie than the events which had wreaked havoc on my family.
“It’s all here, from the comedy of Gazza and Ray Mears turning up to the sheer desperation of knowing that I wouldn’t see my daughter get married or my son graduate. Writing it has been therapeutic and knowing the whole truth will be out there in full sets me free. Doing this book has given me more closure than anything any professional has offered.
“For the last year, I’ve said what needed to be said, conscious that the legal process had to take its course to nail Moat’s accomplices. Now, for the first time, I can tell the whole story from start to finish, except the story begins long before last July and for me there can never be an end.”
Biteback MD Iain Dale says: “PC David Rathband’s courage, fortitude and good humour in the light of his terrible ordeal are commendable. This book tells David’s story in his own words, and it is a truly remarkable one.”
For press and publicity enquiries contact info@bitebackpublishing.com