PC David Rathband has been in danger of losing the media fight for column inches. That will be redressed at 7.30 tonight on the ITV1 programme ‘In the Line of Fire’.

PC Rathband had the misfortune to be on traffic duty one day, ensuring that the media were not held up in their dash to the Raoul Moat ratings bun fight.

Moat appeared at his side, and for no other reason that that here was an unarmed target wearing a police uniform, he shot PC Rathband at point blank range in the face.

In doing so he shot away Rathband’s right eye, and this week we learned that surgeons have lost their battle to save his left eye. He is now totally blind.

The tragic meeting between Moat and Rathband was an unequal struggle. Not because the alleged hard man of Newcastle was holding a gun, and might have temporarily thought himself to be the victor, but because Rathband has shown himself to be that rarity – according to the media – a real man.

It is he who is the victor.

Moat went on to shoot himself when he feared he was about to be returned to the discipline of prison. Rathband is walking away from the encounter with his head held high.

We are frequently fed the line that men are dispensable these days; that families don’t need Fathers; that men are uncaring and feel nothing for their children.

That may well be true in Moat’s case, despite the lachrymose sentiments displayed by his band of supporters on their web sites – ‘a gentle giant’, ‘doted on his kids’ – his relationship with his children was so poor that he had just emerged from jail for beating one of them up; his funeral was attended by a derisory 100 people including a woman who just thought it was a ‘good day out for the kids’ (sic) (very sick) and one of his supporters who was enough of a ‘friend’ to know where he was, has just been paid handsomely by the police for information leading to his capture…..

Rathband, on the other hand, left to die in the foot well of his car, was comforted by an image of his children entering his semi-conscious mind.

“I saw my two children and they were floating past me from my left to right as I sat there and they stopped.

“And I can remember my son and daughter speaking to me and I couldn’t speak to them, I was drifting away, and as I was drifting away my son stood up and grabbed hold of me.

Those words could only have been written by a man secure in the knowledge that he had a strong and loving relationship with his children, that his children would reciprocate that love and help him in his hour of need. You don’t get that sort of relationship by beating your children up when they offend you.

His thoughts of his future only entail ‘loss’ when they concern his children.

That he couldn’t see his daughter get married in a wedding dress.

“I wouldn’t be able to give her away and see who I was giving her away to.

“And we’d discussed my son hopefully would go to university and graduate and I couldn’t even see him throw his bird table up in the air or with his cloak on, if he’s lucky enough to do what he wants to do.”

Those things he will never recover, but the practicalities of life – how to make a cup of tea without sight, how to find a matching pair of socks, are challenges that he intends to overcome.

PC Rathband remains determined to continue to work as a policeman and his intention to stay positive in his approach to life in general, in the future.

He said: “I want to go back, I want to be a policeman as I have said from when I’ve been shot. I can’t believe how proud I am to be a policeman and I will go back as a policeman and I have already said to my boss that I want to walk back into the police station that I left on that Saturday evening. I will go back in uniform and I will walk through the front doors of the police station when I return. As proud as punch, with or without my guide dog or a white stick, and I will walk back to where I left on the fourth of July.”

Considering his future, Pc Rathband said he refused to let his injury affect his life.

He said: “That I am living now is my bonus.

“I will embrace anything that is given to me in the future.

“And as long as my two children and my wife are happy that’s all I need and I don’t want anything else.

I am humbled reading this.

We hear the news each night, of young men with no respect for the sanctity of life, this one stabbed, that one shot, another whining that he shouldn’t be forced to take demeaning work.

It is easy to forget that Britain still contains real men such as David Rathband. Their courage is just not considered as newsworthy as Moat’s self pity and cowardice.

Darren Rathband
August 26, 2010 at 13:20

For all those who have expressed their support for my brother I thank
you.
For all those who have asked how he survived when shot in the face,
then like you we can only thank some one. I have no idea who because he
decided to take my brothers eyesight away.
For all those who think they
have the answers, you maybe should not try it at home.
If anyone wants to
donate to his cause, feel free to email me at d_rathband@hotmail.com
For all
those fed up of the anti- police message, then go out and thank one it makes a
difference.
David remains strong and he will certainly be having a great
day…
Regards
Darren Rathband

thespecialone
August 5, 2010 at 20:17

Very humbled by the programme. What really annoys me is the constant drip
drip anti-police stories in the media, especially from my least favourite
paper (I used to buy it) the Daily Wail (sic). I look forward to their article
on PC Rathband and his struggle ahead. I for one will lay into them with an
attempt at a posted comment because I believe that they are complicit in
making Moat a ‘hero’ in the eyes of the unwashed.
Police officers up and
down the country get injured every day and yet none of this is ever reported
by the Wail.

electro-kevin August 5, 2010 at 19:36

Choked.

Pericles August 5, 2010 at 19:33

An interest pseudonym, opsimath.  How nice it were, could you
learn enough about seeing to restore the unfortunate P.C. Rathband

opsimath August 5, 2010 at 17:55

Spot on, Anna, as always. My respects and good wishes to you and your
family, Mr Rathband. God bless and keep you all.

indigomyth August 5, 2010 at 17:21

Although it can never undo the damage done to him, I hope that medical
advances will make such things as bionic and artificial eyes a possibility for
him in the future, so that he can see the events that he would otherwise.

How on Earth could those people celebrate Raoul Moat, as a “hero of the
common man”?

Bayard August 5, 2010 at 17:35

“How on Earth could those people celebrate Raoul Moat, as a

Oedi August 5, 2010 at 15:08

@ English Viking

Not reall, it depends what load he is using. If it was a 7+ sporting load
then the shot (at about 2.5mm) carries very little energy and would be stopped
pretty easily by bone – if he had used a heavier game load then the outcome
would have been more tragic.

Just to be pedantic, point blank does not mean nil distance. It relates to
a range at which the shot does not appreciably drop due to gravity. A shotgun
firing at about 1.2kfps would have a point blank range of about 5-10yds.

English Viking
August 5, 2010 at 15:52

Thanks for that. I was referring to the media reports that Moat was
standing next to the vehicle and fired directly through the window into the
PC’s face, a distance of around 3 feet. At that distance, even with 7′s, the
damage would be very much more considerable and almost certainly lethal,
however Julia has pointed out that he loaded his own cartridges, so that
would explain it.

Please don’t think that I am belittling what has happened to him. A
terrible crime and my heart goes out to him and his family.

Spiral Architect
August 5, 2010 at 15:03

One has to concede that there are many, many good people in police forces
across the country………..and they are being let down just as badly by their
politico bosses as the general public are.

Without wishing to go over the ‘Moat thing’ again – he was a useless turd
of a man, and so is anyone who shows him any degree of sympathy.

[p.s. Can anyone find details of a fund to donate to PC Rathband’s
recovery. I Googled for one a few weeks ago but could not find one].

mark August 5, 2010 at 14:59

Anna yet again you produce another excellent post. This man is a hero in
every sense of the word and a real man if there was one. I agree that in an
age of increasing STATE SPONSORED MISANDRY here is a MAN who embodies
everything that is decent about real men. Compare this man to the bastards and
NEW MAN NONCES that so many British women fall for. I am truly humbled by this
man … Is there something we as bloggers can do to help him and show our
support? Yours in solidarity Mark.

Anna
Raccoon August 5, 2010 at 15:05

Mark, as you know, I am in France so it is difficult to set up anything
of a financial nature here – but I shall make enquireis, I’m sure there is a
fund for him.

Anna
Raccoon August 5, 2010 at 15:10

This is just to get the ball rolling Mark,

Northumbria Police Federation is co-ordinating all such donations
centrally at the Federation Office, as well as collating letters, emails,
get well cards etc.

If you would like to make a donation and/or send well wishes, these
should be sent directly to Northumbria Police Federation, either via
internal mail or externally to 11-14 Apex Business Village, Annitsford,
Cramlington, Northumberland NE23 7BF. Please make cheques payable to
“Northumbria Police Federation”.

On behalf of Dave and his family, may we thank you all for your support
at this difficult time.

Steve
Antony Williams August 8, 2010 at
10:17

Compare this man to the bastards and NEW MAN NONCES that so many
British women fall for.

That’s a pretty negative comment. What’s wrong with being a “new man”,
better than being a woman beater …..

Potential alpha
male August 11, 2010 at 00:30

What is wrong with being a new man???? It seems to me that New Men are
wimps who are totally under the control of feminazi control freaks. What I
am saying that real men are neither Wife beating bastards or wimpy New Man
Nonces. There is a third way, you know …. It doesn’t have to be a choice
of being a wimp or a bastard!!!!

Katabasis August
5, 2010 at 14:48

Thank you so much for writing this Anna, in a continual sea of media
misandry it choked me up to read this:

“We are frequently fed the line that men are dispensable these days;
that families don

JuliaM August 5,
2010 at 14:15

Very well said indeed.

On the subject of the shotgun, I read somewhere that Moat loaded his own
ammunition, choosing a light load for his girlfriend so as to avoid killing
her (so she would be able to claim compo!). Perhaps he did the same here?

English Viking
August 5, 2010 at 15:45

Ahh, never thought of that,

You see how dangerous a little knowledge can be?

Lescromps August 5, 2010 at 13:50

Very well said,the”Racoon” at the top of her game.

English Viking
August 5, 2010 at 13:34

I am probably going to get shot down in flames for this, and it doesn’t
make a difference to the man’s evident suffering, but… he most certainly has
NOT been shot in the face at point blank range with a shotgun. If he had,
there would be a massive hole where his head used to be.

It appears that he has be caught by the very edge of the shot spread, at
distance.

Hysteria August 5, 2010 at 18:05

I read the text of the interview (the online DT I think) – and as was
mentioned by another commenter I too felt quite emotional reading it. (And
if anyone can find a link to an on-line donation system please post it !

How, as a society, do we get the focus back on the victim? (See the later
post about that “stepson from hell” – same issue.)

We see glimpses of the true British character from time to time – this is
one example, and think about Wooton Basset — same thing going on there
too.
The politicos need to be REALLY careful here. A people ignored by
“those that know better” eventually get mighty pissed off.

Here in the USA the “folks” are starting to wake up – when will the Brits
do likewise?

Ancient and Tattered
Airman August 5, 2010 at 20:58

Here in the USA the

Hysteria
August 6, 2010 at 00:41

I reckon that every society has its “breaking point” – and I agree
that compared with the US, the Brits have long been cowed into
submission and it will take a while until there is a sufficient impetus
to demand/force change. We are not there yst.

English
Viking August 6, 2010 at 01:19

True; the only problem is that the ‘British’ resistance will come
about 5 years too late.

It’s over; find a hole, and hide in it.

Dick the Prick
August 5, 2010 at 13:02

Guide dogs are cool. My chum had one and when on leash it was an absolute
professional but we went to a boozer one time and there was another blind dude
there and as soon as he took it off the leash and gave the order for ‘yer off
duty lad’ the dogs just reverted to normal dogs again, playing with each other
and searching for sausage rolls – awesome animals, awesome.

Yeah, cheers Anna, hadn’t seen it but he seems to be alright and certainly
a very brave chap indeed. Wrong place, wrong time but he can proper blag his
kids into making cups of tea for him!

I guess it’s easy to pick fights with coppers too – the Tomlinson dude,
that special who bashed a squaddies head on the floor and numerous other
abuses of power but we don’t see all their victories; save domestic violence
victims, catch murderers who don’t make headlines, bang up crack dealers and
getting shot in the head for no other reason than some git took umbrage at the
uniform. I no sentimental fan of coppers but I wouldn’t want to do their job
and someone dam well needs to do it. So yeah, if his CO can get him a job
going round schools or whatever, all power to him.

Kingbingo August 5, 2010 at 13:01

So why am I choked this article? To read that which I agree with so deeply.
That which I know in my bones is so true

Eleanor August 5, 2010 at 13:00

I can’t think of anything to say that wouldn’t be platitudes. And I don’t
think he needs those.

Shaun August 5, 2010 at 12:43

There aren’t many times I’m moved by something by something on TV but
seeing Rathband on the box this morning talking about never seeing his
daughters wedding is one of those rare occasions.

I really don’t think I could continue as he is doing, as you say, a real
hero.