A Connecticut cop who worked with kids fatally shot himself hours after he was arrested by his own police department Friday for allegedly enticing a minor online.
Officers from the Manchester Police Department arrested Sgt. Ryan Moan, 33, of Coventry, on Friday and slapped him with a handful of charges related to the alleged luring, according to a department press release.
The court immediately sealed his arrest warrant, so the details of his crimes remain unclear.
But he was cut loose on $450,000 bond, and scheduled to be arraigned on Jan. 3.
Moan — a seven-year veteran of the force who worked as the school resource officer in the town’s public schools — didn’t let it get that far, according to the Hartford Courant.
Cops in the nearby town of Vernon responded to a welfare check at a boat launch on Hatch Hill Road at about 1:45 p.m. on Friday, local police said.
When they arrived, they found Moan dead in his car from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound.
“There is no threat to the public and the incident remains under investigation,” Lt. Robert Marra of the Vernon police said, adding that cops will work with the medical examiner to determine the cause of death.
Moan, who was hired in 2017, was put on unpaid leave Nov. 18 after the allegations surfaced.
He was charged with risk of injury to a minor/impairing morals of a child, enticing a minor by computer, misrepresentation of age to entice a minor and tampering with physical evidence, the department said.
The charges weren’t related to his work as a cop, and the alleged victim isn’t a student or resident of Manchester, a police department rep said.
After the arrest, Manchester officials said they were “shocked, outraged, and disturbed by these alleged actions.”
“Comments will be limited given the ongoing investigation, but the town is committed to full transparency,” town manager Steve Stephanou and police Chief Police William Darby said in a joint statement.
“The alleged actions are in complete contrast to MPD’s values of integrity, compassion and fairness and do not reflect the professionalism and dedication of the officers who make up the department.”
