Peter Ryan Boatman KPM (1953-2010) was a British former

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

who worked as a consultant to the

Youth Justice Board The Youth Justice Board ( cy, Bwrdd Cyfiawnder Ieuenctid), for England and Wales (YJB) is a non-departmental public body created by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to oversee the youth justice system for England and Wales. It is sponsored by the ...

, amongst others. He was found dead, in a suspected suicide, in his home on 1 October 2010. His company, Pro-Tect Systems, was formerly the only authorised importer of

Taser A taser is an electroshock weapon used to incapacitate people, allowing them to be approached and handled in an unresisting and thus safe manner. It is sold by Axon, formerly TASER International. It fires two small barbed darts intended to ...

devices to Britain. ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' has claimed that he had a 50% stake in the company while creating the first British police training programme for their use. Their license was revoked as a result of irregularities found during the investigation into the death of Raoul Moat. Boatman had previously been lampooned by comedian and activist

Mark Thomas Mark Clifford Thomas (born 11 April 1963) is an English comedian, presenter, political satirist, and journalist. He first became known as a guest comic on the BBC Radio 1 comedy show ''The Mary Whitehouse Experience'' in the late 1980s. He is ...

, who described how Pro-Tect had breached new UK controls on torture equipment and brokerage. He was awarded the Queen's Police Medal in the

1998 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1998 for the United Kingdom, Barbados, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Christopher and Nevis were announced on 30 December 1997, ...

References

British police officers 1953 births 2010 deaths English recipients of the Queen's Police Medal {{Crime-bio-stub