Moose's Dispute On Book Escalates (King Comparison Angers Officers)

Washington Post ^ | Apr.18, 2003 | Matthew Mosk

[aristeides]

The president of the Montgomery County police union said yesterday there has been an angry backlash against Chief Charles A. Moose's plans for a book and movie about last fall's sniper manhunt, and outrage at a recent attempt to equate his ethics skirmish to the great civil rights struggles of the 20th century.

Moose's wife made that comparison at a news conference Monday, saying the chief's challenge to Montgomery County's ethics laws made him "no less of a man than Dr. [Martin Luther] King, Nelson Mandela and any other great person that stood for a principle."

...

The union, in particular, was critical of the book deal. Tensions have been high since the union lost an arbitration over pay raises. And Moose and his troops have quietly traded jabs over a provision the union wanted inserted in the contract that would have expressly required the chief to notify rank-and-file officers of impending dangers facing them. The provision was a thinly veiled reference to internal speculation that Moose had waited too long to release the descriptions of the Beltway snipers to patrol units in the days before suspects were captured.

...

[aristeides]

Washington Post, so excerpted.

First indication I've seen by the Washington Post to its readers that Moose's sniper investigation might not have been exactly competent.

[CPOSharky]

It would help if Moose sounded competent.

[aristeides]

I wonder how aware the readers of the Washington Post are that descriptions of the Chevy Caprice were made by witnesses after the first sniper shooting and again after the fifth killing. I wonder if they're aware that the witness of the first sniper shooting described two black men. I wonder how aware they are that the voice on the taped telephone call Malvo made to the Moose's Montgomery County Police Department a couple of weeks before the arrests was obviously that of a young black male. I wonder if they're aware that the national investigation were on to Muhammad before the last sniper shooting, of the bus driver.

[Kwilliams]

It's possible that because of his racism, more people died. And now he wants to make money of his shameless ordeal.

[TomGuy]

Chief Moose was doing fine in the investigation--looking for a disgruntled single white male in a white truck...until that damn truckdriver interfered and trapped the Malvo/Mohammad duo.

[aristeides]

But whenever the matter of Moose's investigation comes up in the media, they act as if it was very skillful and Moose was a hero. I heard Sam Donaldson more or less say that on the radio this morning.

[aristeides]

That truck driver doesn't seem to have made Moose's police department too happy. Last I heard, they were raising questions about whether he was entitled to any of the sniper reward.

[nothingnew]

...him "no less of a man than Dr. [Martin Luther] King, Nelson Mandela...

Communists, basically.

FMCDH

[aristeides]

Moose's wife is a (white, leftist) civil rights lawyer.

[catonsville]

Playing the race card, sign of desperation

[Rummyfan]

Why has the media given Moose a free pass on the bungling of the sniper case? All that bs about the white van....

And now he seeks to profit from a murder spree? And because he is challenging an ethics law (that maybe public servants shouldn't seek outside profits from their involvement with such work) that puts him on a par with MLK??? As for the comparison with Nelson Mandela - marxist terrorist murderer?

[aristeides]

But it's mysterious that they're so desperate to get the book money. If the money on offer is really a lot, all Moose has to do to be able to get it without any problem is to quit his current job as police chief.

[nothingnew]

Bwahaha!...should'a guessed.

FMCDH

[tracer]

My forecast is that Moose will end up as a defendant in both civil and criminal actions. Any proceeds from his book deal may well go to plaintiffs, lawyers, and a court.

Not to mention that, like his predecessor, he likely will receive a "no-confidence" vote from his officers and will leave his job -- and town -- under a cloud........

[aristeides]

There's a picture of Mrs. Moose at this link.

[aristeides]

Charles Dutton is scheduled to play Chief Moose on a USA Network movie about the snipings. I wonder if Moose gets any money for that.

[Rummyfan]

Ohmigawd!!!

[TC Rider]

Why has the media given Moose a free pass on the bungling of the sniper case?

Take a close look, Moose is a African-American in a position of authority. Absolutely immune from criticism from the mainstream media.

[aristeides]

Highly interesting article on Moose: The Rise and Fall of Charles Moose.

[archy]

There's a picture of Mrs. Moose at this link.

Until I saw that, I had very little sympathy or understanding of Chief Moose or his actions. Now I think I'm beginning to ubnderstand why he's so driven to spend so much time at his jobs.

-archy-/-