Charles Moose

Charles Alexander Moose (born 1953 in New York City, New York) is an American law enforcement official and author. A native of New York City who grew up in North Carolina, he has served as the chief of police for Montgomery County, Maryland, and Portland, Oregon. During October 2002, he became internationally known as the primary official in charge of the efforts to apprehend the Beltway snipers.

Early life

Moose was born in 1953 in New York City, New York.^[1] His family moved to Lexington, North Carolina, shortly after he was born, and Moose lived and attended school there until leaving for college.^[2] Moose completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in U.S. History in 1975 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.^[1][3] That year he joined the Portland Police Bureau in Portland, Oregon, as a patrol officer.^[3] He then earned a Master of Public Administration degree from Portland State University in 1984, and a Ph.D in urban studies and criminology in 1993.

Police executive

In 1993, Moose became the police chief of the Portland Police Bureau and served as the top law enforcement official for the city until 1999.^[3] During his time in Portland he also taught at Portland State University and was a member of the Oregon Air National Guard.^[3] On August 2, 1999, he became the 15th Chief of the Montgomery County Police Department. In October 2002, he was the primary official in charge of the efforts to apprehend those responsible for the Beltway sniper attacks. In June 2003, Moose resigned after a disagreement with Montgomery County regarding a policy that barred him from working on a book and consulting on a movie about the sniper investigation.^[4] The book was released in September 2003 and is entitled Three Weeks in October: The Manhunt for the Serial Sniper (ISBN 0-525-94777-9).

Later years

Until 2005, Moose served as the Squadron Commander of the 113th Security Forces Squadron, D.C. Air National Guard, United States Air Force. While Moose served with that unit, he deployed to Operation Katrina and served as military liaison and adviser to the New Orleans Police Department in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Moose was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and served as a Security Forces Officer in Hawaii.

Moose later graduated from the Honolulu Police Academy^[5] and reported for duty as one of the members of the Honolulu Police Department.^[6] On Aug. 4, 2010 The Gazette reported that Moose is no longer employed at the department.^[7]

References