TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - On Thursday, former Toledo Police detective Michael Moore was found not guilty of a sex crime involving a teenage girl.
Now many are wondering if Moore will be able to return to the Toledo Police Department.
Moore, a vice narcotic detective and 14 year veteran of the force, was accused of paying to have sex with a minor in November 2016.
At the time, Moore voluntarily took himself off payroll but was never terminated.
The department needed to wait for the legal case to wrap up first.
As he walked out the courtroom a free man he made it clear what he wanted, telling reporters, "I want to try to get my job back."
But how easy will it be for Moore?
"Our first step is bringing him back on payroll. He is facing an internal investigation in this case so we will represent him. The justice center found him innocent. We are operating under the same assumption that he is innocent and will represent him to the fullest," said Dan Wagner with the Toledo Police Patrolman's Association, Moore's union.
Chief George Kral says an investigation has been launched to determine if Moore violated department policy.
They'll interview witnesses, and pull transcripts from court, including when Moore took the stand and told the jury he did meet up with the alleged teen victim - but not for sex – rather, for information to help bust drug dealers.
That information however, could prevent him from wearing a badge in Toledo again.
According to Toledo Police policy, children cannot be informants.
Once the administrative investigation is complete a chief's hearing will be held to discuss the results and Chief Kral will make a recommendation on if he feels Moore can come back to the force.
Until that time however, it is impossible to say whether Moore will once again be putting on a TPD uniform.
"It would be inappropriate for me to give an opinion or an assumption of what i would say until the chiefs hearing is over," said Kral.
