Bel Air Police Chief Placed On Administrative Leave

BEL AIR, MD — The chief of the Bel Air Police Department has been placed on administrative leave, according to a statement from the town government. Chief Charles Moore was served a protective order Tuesday night, which officials said prompted the decision.

During the interim, Deputy Chief of Police Richard J. Peschek will serve as acting chief.

Officials said Moore was served a temporary protective order issued through the Harford County Circuit Court.

Since it was a personnel issue, town officials said they had no further comment.

Moore has been the chief of the Bel Air Police Department since 2015. He succeeded Chief Leo Matrangola, who retired in April 2015 and passed away that month from leukemia.

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The town department heads and a commissioner/citizen panel selected Moore for the job in 2015 and said at the time he was the top candidate. He had 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 had also worked as a warden in the Harford County Detention Center and held private-sector positions.

Moore 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. A lifelong Harford County resident, he graduated from North Harford High School.