Police watchdog silent on claim Moat was tasered after shooting himself

The 37-year-old was said to have shot himself and was then hit by Tasers fired by West Yorkshire Police which did not make proper contact with him, lodging instead in his hooded top.

But the police watchdog insisted it was “not even close” to establishing the timeline of events surrounding his death.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission said it was still analysing the evidence and could not confirm the report.

The exact circumstances of how the gunman died have been the subject of speculation after the use of Tasers when a manhunt ended in Moat’s death.

Family members have paid for a second post-mortem examination, claiming the first found no evidence that Moat was hit by Tasers but yesterday a source claimed police negotiators felt they were making positive progress with him during the stand-off in the Northumberland town of Rothbury.

Moat discussed how life would be in prison, but then the tone changed and he got to his feet and moved his shotgun to the side of his head.

He said how he would miss his loved ones, and shortly after shot himself, according to the report.

The IPCC took over the Moat inquiry immediately after his death on July 10.

A spokesman yesterday said investigators still had much work to do, analysing audio of the run-up to the shot and checking the accounts of the armed officers and negotiators.

“We are not there yet,” the spokesman said. “We are not even close to being there yet.

“I do not know who the source is, but this has not come from our investigation. It is not something that has been established by our investigation yet.”

The Moat family solicitor had no comment to make on the report, and neither did Northumbria Police.

Moat shot and wounded his ex-girlfriend Sam Stobbart in Birtley, Gateshead, last month, after killing her new lover Chris Brown.

A day later he blinded unarmed Pc David Rathband by shooting him in the face on the outskirts of Newcastle.

He then declared war on police and went into hiding for a week before he was cornered at the River Coquet in Rothbury.

Moat’s uncle, Charlie Alexander, said the results of the second post-mortem examination were not due to be published for two weeks.

The former Royal Artillery warrant officer, 72, said that until the results were known, any theory on Moat’s death was only speculation.

Speaking from his home in Leam Lane, Gateshead, Mr Alexander said: “The idea that Raoul shot himself before he was Tasered would appear to clear the police. I have no idea where this information has come from.

“The findings of the second post-mortem are still not due for another fortnight.”

He added: “We had the IPCC inspectors here on Thursday to speak to us about how the investigation was going and they knew nothing about the potential findings of the second post-mortem.

“We want this done properly. It’s why we paid for the second post-mortem. It’s because we want to get things straight. We don’t want anything left in doubt. So until it is done, I don’t see how people can just guess what happened.”

Mr Alexander said life was slowly returning to normal for the family.

He said: “My new great-granddaughter was born last night, so today is a good day.

“We just want things to get back to normal.”