The police superintendent who led the manhunt for serial killer Raoul Moat is “horrified” that his crimes have been adapted into a television drama, she says.
In 2010, the former doorman shot and injured his ex-girlfriend killed her new boyfriend and blinded a police officer before committing suicide.
Chief Constable of Northumbria Police at the time, Sue Sim, stated that the series “glorified” catastrophic events.
According to ITV, “extensive research” was conducted for the drama.
Moat shot and injured Samantha Stobbart and killed her partner Chris Brown in Gateshead, Northumberland, in July 2010, just days after being released from Durham prison where he had been serving an assault sentence.
He then shot traffic officer PC David Rathband, who was ending his shift in a marked patrol vehicle in Newcastle, before fleeing the scene. In 2012, PC Rathband lost vision in both eyes and committed suicide.
After fleeing, the 37-year-old Moat was spotted in Rothbury, Northumberland, and after a six-hour standoff, he shot himself.
The first episode of The Hunt for Raoul Moat aired on ITV1 on Sunday, with subsequent episodes airing on Monday and Tuesday.
Ms. Sim stated on BBC’s 5 Live Breakfast that it was too soon to relive the events on television because “everyone who was there is still alive.”
“I was horrified when ITV told me they were going to make a dramatization, which means they don’t have to be as accurate with the events as they would if they were using a documentary title,” she explained.
“I will not view it. I personally experienced the events, so I am aware of every detail.
“I’ve read what the producer had to say about how they wanted to emphasize the opinions of his victims, the police, and the journalist involved, and to demonize Moat.”
The problem is that Moat’s children must be reminded of the terrible deed their father committed.
Ms. Sim, who retired in 2015, stated that she believed the production company had notified PC Rathband’s widow Kath via email about the series, which she deemed “appalling.”
“Within a single generation. In reality, this is being done solely for the purpose of glorifying a catastrophic event. It appears to me to be the worst type of television.
“[Kath] and her children are forced to experience this spectacle.
“Why is this being done if not to generate enormous profits for the parties involved?
“They called me to inform me that I would be in it. I shared my concerns with them.
“I asked if they had all the information. They claimed to be collaborating with individuals who were present at the time.
“I just said that if you are going to do it, and I disagree with it, please use the facts, and they responded with the immortal phrase, ‘it’s a dramatization, Mrs. Sim’.”
ITV stated that screenwriter Kevin Sampson and World Productions executives based the drama on “extensive research, extensive interviews with those personally involved in the case, and published accounts.”
It added,
“Some scenes have been fabricated for dramatic purposes, and some names have been changed to protect the privacy of certain individuals.”
Instead of focusing on Moat’s mythology, our drama tells the story of his victims, challenging viewers to consider issues, themes, and points of view they may not have previously considered.
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