Bel Air Police Chief Had Black Eye From Fight With Son: Attorney

BEL AIR, MD — After the estranged wife of Bel Air Police Chief Charles Moore was granted a temporary protective order, a judge will decide Tuesday whether to extend it. The order prohibits Moore from contact for a week and resulted in him being placed on administrative leave from the Bel Air Police Department.

Tamara Moore's protective order, served Tuesday, claims that Charles Moore physically harmed their son and her in an incident Dec. 13, according to The Aegis.

Moore's attorney told Patch the police chief suffered visible injuries during the incident, including a black eye. He also said they had not communicated in the six weeks since.

"There has been zero communication between any of these parties between this time period," Jason Silverstein, the attorney representing Charles Moore, told Patch Friday, meaning there has been no contact since Dec. 13.

Bel Air officials said Wednesday they had placed the chief on administrative leave due to the protective order. The town administrator told The Aegis officials would await the outcome of Tuesday's hearing in Harford County Circuit Court before taking further action.

The temporary protective order reportedly stems from an incident that happened after Charles and Tamara Moore's son, who is 17, was allegedly found in December with contraband in his bedroom, and Charles Moore went to the house to address the situation. The Moores have been separated since 2016. She lives at the home in Jarrettsville with the teen.

According to the petition for the order obtained by The Aegis, Tamara Moore allegedly told her husband "she would handle it" and did not want him getting in the middle of the situation.

"An important thing that I saw in the protective order that is relayed by the mother is that she makes it seem like he wasn't asked to come there," Silverstein said. "I have text messages from her to him asking him to come there to deal with it."

Added Silverstein: "She sent some pictures of marijuana" and "called [Charles Moore] and said, 'Look, this is what I found. Can you help deal with this?'" She had found vape pens in the teen's room as well, he said.

The Harford County Circuit Court refused to provide Patch with access to the protective order, saying it was under seal.

However, The Aegis was granted access to the document, which the newspaper said includes an account from Tamara Moore about what happened when her estranged husband arrived at the Jarrettsville home upon learning their son had been caught with a vape pen Dec. 13.

Charles Moore's teenage son punched him, at which point he is accused of choking the boy, according to the protective order filing obtained by the Aegis. His wife tried to touch his bag as he was leaving, and Charles Moore allegedly brushed her away, knocking her to the floor, the order reportedly states. The boy scraped his head, and the wife hurt her finger, the protective order reportedly said.

Charles Moore's attorney told Patch that the police chief was injured as a result of the altercation.

"He had a black eye and contusions on his head," Silverstein said. "He got punched. His other son will testify to all this, too."

The couple's adult son was at the house and "absolutely saw it and physically restrained the brother from beating up his dad," Silverstein said. "Big brother pulled little brother off of dad."

Related:

• Bel Air Police Chief Placed On Administrative Leave

According to The Aegis, the protective order accused Charles Moore of various acts dating to 2009, from threatening to bash his wife's head to sending her text messages described as "belittling."

In other court filings, which Patch had access to, Charles Moore accused his wife of cruelty.

In spring 2016, he filed for limited divorce, stating Tamara Moore "constructively abandoned and deserted" him, and they had physically separated on Feb. 16, 2016.

Charles Moore alleged that Tamara Moore "persistently engaged in cruelty" against him, and "had engaged in conduct, endangering [his] safety, health and happiness, and has harassed and humiliated him in the presence of his family and friends and others."

The two had been married since 1994, according to court records.

"Her conduct made the continuation of the marital relationship impossible, if [Charles Moore] is to preserve his health, safety and self-respect," the complaint from 2016 says, stating there is "no reasonable hope or expectation of a reconciliation."

The couple has two children together, one who is an adult and another who is 17 years old and will be 18 in July. Tamara Moore lives at a house in Jarrettsville that is listed in state property records as being owned by Charles Moore.

"That's a great question," Silverstein said, when asked why the chief had not completed the divorce process. The couple had been together 20-something years, had cared about one another and had a separation agreement in place, he said, stating "nobody has a great reason."

As a result of the protective order being served Tuesday, Charles Moore was ordered to surrender his firearms, not to have contact with his son's school or care providers, to stay away from the residence in Jarrettsville and not to abuse or contact those involved. A protective order is a civil, not a criminal, matter, and the final order could be in effect for up to two years.

The town of Bel Air announced Wednesday it had placed the chief on administrative leave due to the temporary protective order. In the interim, Deputy Chief of Police Richard J. Peschek will serve as acting chief.

Town Administrator Jesse Bane told The Aegis the town will decide how to proceed after the final protective order hearing Tuesday.

"He could lose his job," Silverstein said. He said he has a theory about why Tamara Moore chose to file for the protective order more than six weeks after the incident but declined to elaborate.

"It will come out on Tuesday," Silverstein said, in court.