Raoul Moat - what will IPCC investigate?
Updated on 06 July 2010
As Northumbria Police continues to hunt for alleged gunman Raoul Thomas Moat in Rothbury, Channel 4 News looks at the possible lines of inquiry the Independent Police Complaints Commission may investigate to establish if there are any police failings.
Northumbria Police referred the case into the shootings by Raoul Thomas Moat to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) on Monday, following a number of missed opportunities to stop the former nightclub bouncer from harming anyone else.
Channel 4 News looks at the possible lines of inquiry the IPCC may have to investigate to establish whether Northumbria Police failed in dealing with the alleged gunman.
Missed opportunities
It emerged on Monday that Northumbria Police were warned that the 37-year-old may have been planning to harm his ex-girlfriend, Samantha Stobbart, the day before he allegedly shot her and killed her new lover, Chris Brown.
Moat was released from prison on Thursday after serving an 18-week sentence for assault. Northumbria Police Temporary Chief Constable Sue Simm confirmed in a news conference on Monday that Durham Prison had warned them about the release of the fugitive on Friday. Stobbart and Brown were shot on Saturday.
Moat later reportedly posted a message on his Facebook page saying: "Just got out of jail, I've lost everything, my business, my property and to top it all off my lass of six years has gone off with the copper that sent me down. I'm not 21 and I can't rebuild my life. Watch and see what happens."
Following the warning from Durham Prison and this Facebook update, the IPCC may investigate whether these developments were acted upon by Northumbria Police adequately.
Temporary Chief Constable Sue Simm said: "Northumbria Police were not informed that Mr Moat intended to shoot or kill Samantha Stobbart. We were informed on Friday afternoon by Durham Prison that Mr Moat may intend to cause serious harm to his partner.
"We acknowledge that it is important that these matters are investigated thoroughly, and I have voluntarily referred this aspect to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, and we will of course fully co-operate with the Independent Police Complaints Commission."
Whether or not the police acted upon this warning is unknown and something the IPCC will investigate.
It has been reported that late on Saturday evening Moat visited the home of his friend Andy Mcallister, who later revealed to The Sun newspaper that he told Moat to hand himself in and was interviewed by police the next day.
The police said they then received two phone calls from a person purporting to be Moat. The first came 12 minutes before he allegedly shot his third victim on Sunday morning. During the call he allegedly said he intended to target a police officer.
PC David Rathband, 42, was shot by a man identified as Moat in the East Denton area of Newcastle. The police officer of 10-years experience on the force, was shot in the face and chest through the passenger window of his patrol car in an "unprovoked" attack while on duty. He had been parked at a roundabout. The officer underwent surgery on Sunday evening and his condition remains critical but stable.
The 999 call was six minutes long and made to the Police communication centre. The IPCC says the shooting of PC Rathband does not form part of their inquiry. The IPCC says it is investigating what Northumbria Police did with the intelligence they received from Durham Prison about an alleged threat by Moat against Samantha Stobbart.
In the second call Moat allegedly told officers he thought his ex, Samantha Stobbart, was having an affair with a policeman. Detectives said it seemed Moat had a grudge against the force. The police then revealed on Monday that Stobbart had told him she was seeing a policeman, but that it was a lie, because she was scared of him.
Following the shooting of PC Rathband Moat then returned to Mr Mcallister's house early on Monday morning and handed him his confession letter, asking him to pass it to the police and the press. This second meeting came just hours after police had been interviewing Mr McAllister about the first meeting. He then called the police again as soon as Moat left his home.
Northumbria Police on the investigation
Channel 4 News Chief Correspondent Alex Thomson asked Temporary Chief Constable Sue Simm that given the history of Mr Moat, his domestic violence and the way in which he was known by the force, should the IPCC inquiry be extended to cover that lengthier period of time?
Simm responded by saying: "This man has only been charged with one offence. The IPCC inquiry is relation to the fact that I voluntarily asked them to come in to look at... the piece of information that came into the force late on Friday evening. And that is the extent of the IPCC inquiry at this point."
When pressed on the subject she continued: "At this stage the IPCC have been called in on a voluntary level. What I must stress, as we've said throughout this interview is that our main aim at the moment is to trace and locate and detain Mr Moat. Following that we will of course be reviewing the situation along with the IPCC."
Police vendetta
The warning signs of Moat's vendetta against the police have emerged in a letter he allegedly wrote to the police. In the 49-page letter, delivered to the police by a friend of Moat, he warned that police would "pay for what they've done" to him and his ex-girlfriend, Samantha Stobbart.
He wrote: "The public need not fear me but the police should as I won't stop till I'm dead."
He described himself as a "killer and a maniac but I ain't no coward", and went on: "I guess I've finally lost it. I'm not on the run, I will keep killing police until I am dead. They've hunted me for years, now it's my turn." This chilling message would subscribe to the speculation that Moat is seeking "suicide by cop".
"Suicide by cop" is a method in which a suicidal individual deliberately acts in a threatening way, with the goal of provoking a lethal reaction from a policeman. Other names for the phenomenon include death by cop, suicide by police and blue suicide.
The US media coined the term following a number of deaths at the hands of US police. The term was first used in the UK in a 2003 case.
Detective Chief Superintendent Neil Adamson of Northumbria Police said yesterday that the speculation in the press linked to suicide by cop has not been helpful, but did admit that it is something the ex-prisoner may well be thinking about.
Police operation
Northumbria Police confirmed that at least eight operational activities are ongoing in the Northumbria area. The force had to bring in the help of firearms officers from five other forces in the north. These being Cumbria Constabulary, South Yorkshire Police, West Yorkshire Police, Humberside Police and Cleveland Police.
For operational purposes Northumbria Police would not confirm how many firearms officers are taking part in the hunt for Moat in the region, but confirmed to Channel 4 News it was a significant number.
At least five armed police vehicles were seen surrounding Moat's Lexus, which was parked on an industrial estate beside the River Coquet to the west of of Rothbury. A police helicopter was seen hovering above the wooded valley about a mile away from the village. Six armed officers in protective clothing have also been seen patrolling the area in a convoy.
Northumbria Police Temporary Chief Constable Sue Sim confirmed that "as a precautionary measure, we are closing down a geographic area near Rothbury.
"This is a two-mile radial exclusion zone on the ground. In addition, there is a five-mile aerial exclusion zone to a height of 5,000ft. Numerous resources are being deployed to the area to reassure the public and carry out an effective search."
She warned the public that there may be some disruption and asked for their co-operation. She said: "Members of the public in the area are advised to remain indoors and await further instructions. Anyone considering visiting Rothbury is also advised not to travel at this stage.
"People will see armed officers on the street. This is a precautionary measure to protect and reassure them. Rest assured everything is being done to get this to a conclusion. May I also remind you that this is an ongoing situation and I must stress that there are other inquiries ongoing within the Northumbria area."
Ex-Detective Chief Superintendent Chris Stevenson, who headed up the Soham murders investigation told Channel 4 News:
"Operations of this kind always take a huge amount of resources and take a lot to manage. Senior management who run The Gold Command Group (the name given to those leading the investigation) have to manage the situation, manning the investigation to ensure no more lives are lost and the man (Moat) is caught.
"There are armed officers from six different constabularies and it will take big co-ordination at a strategic and operational level.
"This kind of operation is quite common and the arrangements between the different forces will have been in place before the incident began. Mutual aid agreements will already be in place between the forces.
"In homicide and firearms incidents of this kind it is very normal for different police forces to work together. The host force (Northumbria Police) will run the major operation room and will be headed up by the commander of the force. These are well practiced plans."
When asked about what method of investigation will be used by the six forces of armed officers, Mr Stevenson said: "It will be a combination of police search and firearms working together to locate the man.
"There are a number of ways to locate Moat - these being appeals to the public, which have already proved successful through the media. They located the vehicle this morning following a media appeal. There will also be physical searches of the locality and obviously intelligence will be used too, taking into account his background."
Residents in Rothbury have spoken about the ongoing police hunt for Moat. Bill Brown, the landlord of the Queen's Head Hotel in Rothbury said: "There is a helicopter hovering overhead and a number of police vans around.
"But there's nothing going on in the village itself - it seems to be over the Cragside estate."
Rothbury parish councillor Helen Edes, who lives in the centre of the village, said: "We have heard about the fuss and seen a helicopter." Mrs Edes said she had also seen a police van with bars at the windows going through the village.
Sylvia Crane said: "You can see a helicopter hovering overhead, out towards Wingates. We haven't seen any police here and all we can see is the helicopter."
The police said no firearms have been recovered and declined to discuss the arrest of two men on suspicion of conspiracy to murder.
It is understood some friends and family are being protected, but Northumbria Police would not clarify how many or who. The police said that Moat is still at large, but the "net is closing".
