Bel Air Names New Police Chief

The town of Bel Air has a new police chief.

Charles A. Moore was named chief of police Monday night at the town hall meeting in Bel Air.

Moore retired in July 2014 from Maryland State Police as a captain/executive officer in the communications support division, according to a statement from the town of Bel Air. He has worked as a warden in the Harford County Detention Center and held private-sector positions since then, the statement said.

He has a master’s degree in leadership and management from Johns Hopkins University and graduated from the Maryland State Police academy in 1998 in the top 15 percent of his class, according to the statement. The lifelong Harford County resident graduated from North Harford High School.

He succeeds Chief Leo Matrangola, who retired in July and passed away that month from leukemia. Since then Deputy Chief Richard Pescheck has been serving as interim chief.

Two panels interviewed candidates for the police chief position over the past two months, and both the department heads and commissioner/citizen panel selected Moore for the job, town officials said in a statement.

According to the statement, Moore was the “top candidate.”

When he was officially appointed Monday night, the 48-year-old said that through the interview process, he learned how connected the community and its business owners were to the police department and noted that his friend Matrangola left “some big shoes to fill,” The Aegis reported.

Photo Credit: Town of Bel Air.