Jury to decide if Taser was right against Moat

A JURY at the inquest of cornered killer Raoul Moat will consider whether police should have used unauthorised Taser weapons, the coroner has said.

The 37-year-old shot himself in the head in Rothbury, Northumberland, after being hit by a shotgun Taser round fired by marksmen who believed he was preparing to kill himself.

The inquest at Newcastle Crown Court has heard the aim was to incapacitate him, allowing officers to make an arrest, but that in all likelihood there was little or no electrical discharge needed to achieve that.

Moat was on the run after shooting his ex-girlfriend Sam Stobbart, executing her new boyfriend Chris Brown and then blinding Pc David Rathband after declaring war on police.

Newcastle Coroner David Mitford began summing up the case on the 14th day of the hearing.

While on the run, Moat left messages threatening the wider public. The inquest was adjourned until today when the jury will start deliberating.