Montgomery County Police Chief Charles A. Moose, the anguished lawman who was the public face of the sniper manhunt last fall, has resigned because a county ethics board would not allow him to parlay his fame into book and movie deals.
Moose broke the news to his staunchest supporter, County Executive Douglas M. Duncan, over veal and Diet Cokes at a Rockville restaurant Monday night. The resignation becomes effective June 28, less than a year after Moose rose to hero status for his calming presence during the sniper attacks.
"I accepted his decision with a lot of sadness and regret," Duncan said at a news conference yesterday. "It lets him get on with the next chapter of his life."
Moose now has the time and freedom to write a book, Three Weeks in October: The Manhunt for the Serial Sniper, due to be published in September and expected to net him at least $170,000. He also signed a TV movie deal and has already received $4,250 to consult for the film.
In testimony before the county's ethics commission this year, Moose, 49, described the money he would make as "my good fortune" and said it could help pay law school bills for his wife and son.
But a ruling from the ethics commission in March made it doubtful he would ever see the money as long as he remained police chief. The commission ruled, "It is not in the best interest of the county to allow its employees to 'trade on' their government activities for private gain in such a direct and immediate fashion."
Moose appealed to the county's Circuit Court and also filed a federal lawsuit claiming his First Amendment rights had been violated. Those lawsuits are likely to go forward because of questions over whether the book will reveal confidential information on the sniper investigation and whether he received any money before he resigned.
"The ethics commission would say that's a violation of the ethics law, and the commission would be looking for him to pay that money over to the county," said Judson Garrett, associate Montgomery County attorney.
Moose's annual salary as police chief is $160,000 - almost as much as he will make from the book and movie. But he told the ethics commission the book was a "once-in-a-lifetime" chance to tell his personal story of rising through segregated schools in rural North Carolina to earn a doctorate degree - as well as to chronicle the events of last fall.
"I worked really hard. People seem to have an interest in me," Moose told the commission, according to a transcript of the closed-door meeting. "I never fathomed that I would have this opportunity ... I don't fathom that I'm going to get a second opportunity."
Members of the Montgomery County Council and the police force, who were mostly supportive of Moose during his four years as chief, said they were relieved that the ethical tussle appeared to be over and that the county could finally move on.
"He suddenly became an I-I-I, me-me-me person," Walter Bader, president of the Montgomery County Fraternal Order of Police, said of Moose. "It was a matter of choosing between cashing in on a tragedy or staying on as a police officer, and he chose the book over his career. It went against the values of all the officers here."
Moose was not the only law enforcement officer who has been offered a chance to profit from the sniper case. Michael Bouchard, the former head of the Baltimore field office for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said yesterday he has received several book offers - but he has turned them all down.
"I told them I'm not interested," Bouchard said. Asked about Moose's situation, he said, "He's been in law enforcement for a long time. He knows what's best for him and it's his decision."
Gary M. Bald, special agent in charge of the FBI's Baltimore office and the third leg of the "three-legged stool" that Moose said led the investigation, declined to be interviewed yesterday. But he said in a statement, "I have tremendous respect for the leadership that Chief Moose demonstrated during the sniper investigation and will always value the friendship that we forged during such a trying time."
While Bald and Bouchard stood at Moose's side during daily news conferences for those three weeks in October, Moose became the most well-known of the three. He projected the image of a tough, confident lawman, and many TV viewers asserted that his presence was reassuring.
His steady voice, which still betrayed hints of his North Carolina upbringing, famously cracked when he spoke of the shooting of a 13-year-old boy outside a Bowie middle school. On that chilling day, Moose echoed the feelings of many by saying, "Now we're stepping over the line. Shooting a kid, it's getting to be really, really personal now."
Moose was chief of police in Portland, Ore., before joining the Montgomery County force in 1999. He was praised for his focus on community policing and reducing the number of pedestrian deaths and injuries. Duncan said Moose improved the force significantly.
But asked if Moose was exploiting the sniper attacks, Duncan said, "No one is exploiting anything in terms of the sniper. I cried with the families. I grieved with the families. I have not heard any complaints" from them.
Several county council members, however, said Moose's battle for his book and movie were getting to be a distraction. "It was clearly beginning to fray nerves on a number of levels, within the ranks and within the community," said councilman Tom Perez.
"I don't begrudge him for a minute in making the decision to go, but I understand it," Perez said. "Heading off a showdown on this may end up being in the best interest of all sides."
Moose is certainly not the first public official to try to profit off celebrity earned on the job. But not all have been snared in an ethical tangle. For instance, O.J. Simpson prosecutor Marcia Clark signed a $4.2 million book deal after the trial and few objected.
An attorney for the Montgomery ethics commission said the panel's March ruling against the chief was soundly based on the state ethics law. Moose's attorney did not return repeated phone calls yesterday.
Duncan said the county will begin a search for a new police chief. Acting Police Chief William O'Toole, who has been serving as chief since Moose was activated by the D.C. Air National Guard in March, will continue to serve until a replacement is found.
Moose broke the news to his staunchest supporter, County Executive Douglas M. Duncan, over veal and Diet Cokes at a Rockville restaurant Monday night. The resignation becomes effective June 28, less than a year after Moose rose to hero status for his calming presence during the sniper attacks.
Moose now has the time and freedom to write a book, Three Weeks in October: The Manhunt for the Serial Sniper, due to be published in September and expected to net him at least $170,000. He also signed a TV movie deal and has already received $4,250 to consult for the film.
In testimony before the county's ethics commission this year, Moose, 49, described the money he would make as "my good fortune" and said it could help pay law school bills for his wife and son.
But a ruling from the ethics commission in March made it doubtful he would ever see the money as long as he remained police chief. The commission ruled, "It is not in the best interest of the county to allow its employees to 'trade on' their government activities for private gain in such a direct and immediate fashion."
Moose appealed to the county's Circuit Court and also filed a federal lawsuit claiming his First Amendment rights had been violated. Those lawsuits are likely to go forward because of questions over whether the book will reveal confidential information on the sniper investigation and whether he received any money before he resigned.
"The ethics commission would say that's a violation of the ethics law, and the commission would be looking for him to pay that money over to the county," said Judson Garrett, associate Montgomery County attorney.
Moose's annual salary as police chief is $160,000 - almost as much as he will make from the book and movie. But he told the ethics commission the book was a "once-in-a-lifetime" chance to tell his personal story of rising through segregated schools in rural North Carolina to earn a doctorate degree - as well as to chronicle the events of last fall.
"I worked really hard. People seem to have an interest in me," Moose told the commission, according to a transcript of the closed-door meeting. "I never fathomed that I would have this opportunity ... I don't fathom that I'm going to get a second opportunity."
Members of the Montgomery County Council and the police force, who were mostly supportive of Moose during his four years as chief, said they were relieved that the ethical tussle appeared to be over and that the county could finally move on.
"He suddenly became an I-I-I, me-me-me person," Walter Bader, president of the Montgomery County Fraternal Order of Police, said of Moose. "It was a matter of choosing between cashing in on a tragedy or staying on as a police officer, and he chose the book over his career. It went against the values of all the officers here."
Moose was not the only law enforcement officer who has been offered a chance to profit from the sniper case. Michael Bouchard, the former head of the Baltimore field office for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said yesterday he has received several book offers - but he has turned them all down.
"I told them I'm not interested," Bouchard said. Asked about Moose's situation, he said, "He's been in law enforcement for a long time. He knows what's best for him and it's his decision."
Gary M. Bald, special agent in charge of the FBI's Baltimore office and the third leg of the "three-legged stool" that Moose said led the investigation, declined to be interviewed yesterday. But he said in a statement, "I have tremendous respect for the leadership that Chief Moose demonstrated during the sniper investigation and will always value the friendship that we forged during such a trying time."
While Bald and Bouchard stood at Moose's side during daily news conferences for those three weeks in October, Moose became the most well-known of the three. He projected the image of a tough, confident lawman, and many TV viewers asserted that his presence was reassuring.
His steady voice, which still betrayed hints of his North Carolina upbringing, famously cracked when he spoke of the shooting of a 13-year-old boy outside a Bowie middle school. On that chilling day, Moose echoed the feelings of many by saying, "Now we're stepping over the line. Shooting a kid, it's getting to be really, really personal now."
Moose was chief of police in Portland, Ore., before joining the Montgomery County force in 1999. He was praised for his focus on community policing and reducing the number of pedestrian deaths and injuries. Duncan said Moose improved the force significantly.
But asked if Moose was exploiting the sniper attacks, Duncan said, "No one is exploiting anything in terms of the sniper. I cried with the families. I grieved with the families. I have not heard any complaints" from them.
Several county council members, however, said Moose's battle for his book and movie were getting to be a distraction. "It was clearly beginning to fray nerves on a number of levels, within the ranks and within the community," said councilman Tom Perez.
"I don't begrudge him for a minute in making the decision to go, but I understand it," Perez said. "Heading off a showdown on this may end up being in the best interest of all sides."
Moose is certainly not the first public official to try to profit off celebrity earned on the job. But not all have been snared in an ethical tangle. For instance, O.J. Simpson prosecutor Marcia Clark signed a $4.2 million book deal after the trial and few objected.
An attorney for the Montgomery ethics commission said the panel's March ruling against the chief was soundly based on the state ethics law. Moose's attorney did not return repeated phone calls yesterday.
Duncan said the county will begin a search for a new police chief. Acting Police Chief William O'Toole, who has been serving as chief since Moose was activated by the D.C. Air National Guard in March, will continue to serve until a replacement is found.
