Charles Alexander Moose (August 4, 1953 – November 25, 2021) was an American author and police officer. He was the primary official in charge of efforts to apprehend the D.C. snipers in October 2002. During his law enforcement career, Moose served as the chief of police for

Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is the most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat is Rockville, Maryland ...

, and

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

Early life and education

Moose was born in New York City on August 4, 1953. His family moved to

Lexington, North Carolina Lexington is the county seat of Davidson County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town had a population of 19,632. It is located in central North Carolina, south of Winston-Salem, North Caroli ...

, shortly after he was born, and Moose lived and attended school there until leaving for college. When he was sixteen years old, his mother died, and his father died when Moose was in his early twenties. Moose completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in U.S. History in 1975 at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

. That year he joined the

Portland Police Bureau The Portland Police Bureau (PPB), officially the Portland Bureau of Police, is the law enforcement agency of the city of Portland, Oregon, Portland, the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of September 2024, the Bureau has around 800 ...

, as a

patrolman A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as law enforcement officers, military personnel, or security personnel, that are assigned to monitor or secure a specific geographic area. Etymology The word "patrol" is derived from the French ...

. He then earned a

Master of Public Administration A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized professional graduate degree in public administration that prepares students for leadership roles, similar or equivalent to a Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the ...

degree from

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the next ...

in 1984, and a PhD in

urban studies Urban studies is based on the study of the urban development of cities and regions—it makes up the theory portion of the field of urban planning. This includes studying the history of city development from an architectural point of view, to th ...

and

criminology Criminology (from Latin , 'accusation', and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'', 'word, reason') is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behaviou ...

in 1993.

Career

Police executive

In 1993, Moose became the police chief of the

and served as the top law enforcement official for the city until 1999. During his time in Portland he also taught at

and was a member of the

Oregon Air National Guard The Oregon Air National Guard (OR ANG) is the aerial militia of the Oregon, State of Oregon, United States, United States of America. It is a reserve of the United States Air Force and along with the Oregon Army National Guard an element of the O ...

. He had previously applied for a chief's position with the police force in Jackson, Mississippi, but was rejected when they discovered his wife was white. On August 2, 1999, he became the 15th Chief of the

Montgomery County Police Department The Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD), officially the Montgomery County Department of Police (MCP or MCDP), is a Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, nationally accredited agency and the primary law enforcement age ...

in Maryland, being hired by County Executive

Doug Duncan Douglas Michael Duncan (born October 25, 1955) is a former American politician from Maryland who served as Rockville City Councilman, Rockville Mayor, Montgomery County Executive, and candidate for Governor of Maryland. He is a member of the De ...

. In October 2002, he was the primary official in charge of the efforts to apprehend those responsible for the D.C. 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. The book was released in September 2003 and is titled ''Three Weeks in October: The Manhunt for the Serial Sniper''. Before the trial, however, Chief Moose engaged in a publicity tour for his book on the sniper investigation, which jeopardized the prosecution. The tour included appearances on ''

Dateline NBC ''Dateline NBC'' (also known simply as ''Dateline'') is a weekly American television news magazine reality legal show that is broadcast on NBC. It was previously the network's flagship general interest news magazine, but now focuses mainly on ...

'', the ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...

'' show, and ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...

''. Assistant Prince William County Commonwealth's Attorney James Willett told ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', "Personally, I don't understand why someone who's been in law enforcement his whole life would potentially damage our case or compromise a jury pool by doing this." After his death, County Executive

defended Moose's actions, saying he got a "raw deal."

Later work

Until 2005, Moose served as the Squadron Commander of the 113th Security Forces Squadron, D.C. Air National Guard,

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

. While Moose served with that unit, he deployed to Operation Katrina and served as military liaison and adviser to the

New Orleans Police Department The New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) has primary responsibility for law enforcement in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The department's jurisdiction covers all of Orleans Parish, Louisiana, Orleans Parish, while the city itself is div ...

in the wake of

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

. Moose was promoted to lieutenant colonel after arriving in Hawaii and served as the 154th Security Forces Commander there. Moose later graduated from the Honolulu Police Academy and reported for duty as one of the members of the

Honolulu Police Department The Honolulu Police Department (HPD) is the principal law enforcement agency of the Honolulu County, Hawaii, City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, headquartered in the Alapa'i Police Headquarters in Honolulu, Hawaii, Honolulu CDP. Officially re ...

. On August 4, 2010, '' The Gazette'' reported that Moose was no longer employed at the department, having left in 2008. As of September 2012, Moose was retired and living in

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

. He applied with the Portland Bureau of Police for the position of chief but was denied.

Death

Moose died at his home in

Palm Harbor, Florida Palm Harbor is a census-designated place (CDP) and Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a population of 61,366. Culture Palm Harbor is located north of down ...

, on November 25, 2021, at age 68 while watching a football game on TV.

In popular culture

*Moose is portrayed by Charles S. Dutton in the 2003 T.V. film '' D.C. Sniper: 23 Days of Fear''.

Bibliography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moose, Charles Alexander 1953 births 2021 deaths 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American writers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers African-American police officers Chiefs of the Portland Police Bureau Law enforcement officials from Maryland Law enforcement officials from Portland, Oregon Oregon National Guard personnel Chiefs of the Montgomery County Police Department Writers from Tampa, Florida Portland State University alumni Portland State University faculty United States Air Force officers University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Writers from Honolulu Writers from New York City African-American male writers