AN INQUEST INTO the death of Raoul Moat has revealed that the Tasers used by police did not have Home Office approval.
Moat died after a six-hour stand off with police in Northern England on Saturday. He had been on the run from the authorities for ten days following the shooting of three people, one of whom died.
The inquest found that two West Yorkshire police used XREP Tasers on Moat. The Tasers are still undergoing tests and police are told to use discretion when deciding whether to use them.
A Home Office spokesman said the Tasers were “currently subject to testing by the HOSDB (Home Office Scientific Development Branch)”.
He added that the use of force is lawful when “reasonable and proportionate.”
“The process for approval of less lethal weapons is set out in a Home Office code of practice document on police use of firearms which chief constables must ‘have regard to’.”
It is unclear if officers used the Tasers before of after Moat shot himself.
Meanwhile, several Facebook pages have been created in tribute to Moat. One of the pages entitled “RIP Raoul Moat you legend!” has 28,173 fans. Another, called “Rest In Peace Raoul Moat XXX” has 674 members.
One fan, Ally Wyper, wrote “it’s just a shame he never gt a chance to take out more of the Polis.”
Floral tributes have also been left at the site where died and his old home. One note left outside Moat’s house in Newcastle upon Tyne read: “We have all felt your pain and anguish all week and our hearts were with you last night. You were just so misunderstood.”
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