Assault charges against former Jackson police officer dropped

Cape Girardeau County prosecutors have dropped assault charges against a former Jackson police officer.

Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Julia Meiners dismissed all three misdemeanor charges Monday after the witnesses changed their stories, according to a news release.

Edward A. Moore was charged Jan. 10 with punching his two teenage sons and one son's girlfriend. The Cape Girardeau Sheriff's Office investigated after Moore's former wife reported he had assaulted their 18-year-old son. According to an affidavit filed with the original charges, the son had said his father grabbed him by the throat and punched him during an argument, then punched the son's girlfriend and 15-year-old brother when they tried to separate the two.

"One of the sons now claims he started the fight by hitting his father first," Meiners said in the release. "The bottom line is that it cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt what happened and a trial would be a waste of time."

Moore was fired from the Jackson Police Department the day the charges were filed.

Moore's attorney, Steve Wilson, said his client is happy with the outcome.

"I don't know to what extent he would be welcome back to work at Jackson," Wilson said. "It's unfortunate he got fired on an allegation that wasn't necessarily totally true, He's happy things have been resolved. He's working on repairing relationships with his sons. He's hoping to get back to work soon in law enforcement."