PC David Rathband Was Planning New Life In Australia
The policeman shot and blinded by gunman Raoul Moat was considering a new life in Australia prior to his death, his twin brother has said.
PC David Rathband was found hanged at his home in Blyth, Northumberland, on 29 February.
Darren Rathband said that during a recent visit to his home in Adelaide they had discussed the future.
He was thinking about leaving Northumbria Police and living in a specially-built property next to him.
Darren Rathband, a police officer in Australia, said: “We planned a future together.
“We looked at buying a house with some land.
“David could have his own independent living accommodation, with a pool.
‘Attitude did change’
“We discussed how we would have his own letter box, his own door, and he could have been independent.
“He was so positive in regards to that.”
Following his death, Northumbria’s chief constable said that there had been discussion over PC Rathband’s return to work in a road safety capacity in April.
However, Mr Rathband said his brother did mention not going back to the force.
“I certainly think there were times when that attitude did change and there were times when he still wanted to get back to work,” he said.
“It was difficult for him.
“He [sometimes] did not see he had a role he wanted to do in the police service.”
A memorial service to celebrate PC Rathband’s life is being held at St Nicholas Cathedral in Newcastle, or Saturday.
Members of the public, politicians and senior dignitaries are expected to attend.
The funeral will take place at his home town of Stafford on 17 March, and Northumbria Police is holding a separate memorial service in Newcastle two days later.
Same Difference 
Australia almost never lets people with a disability settle there, even if they already have family (the only exception I’ve ever heard of is when they are the last members of a family living outside Australia, then they may be allowed to move there) and even if they are highly-qualified; the stated reason is that they would be entitled to disability benefits and thus be a burden on the state. The same is true in New Zealand and Canada, even when a couple with one disabled child tries to move there (a couple was actually thrown out of Canada a year or so ago after “mistakenly” having been allowed to live there for five years, because their daughter had cerebral palsy). I don’t know if he or his family knew this.
I have a suspicion that Rathband had been planning his suicide for a while, and simply hadn’t told anyone. This is sadly common with suicides — the ones who really intend to succeed in killing themselves don’t let on.
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