Early life

McCarthy was born June 20, 1949, and was raised in the Ashburn neighborhood of Chicago. He graduated from St. Denis Grammar School and Leo Catholic High School and then attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. While there, he was a member of the football team and the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. He graduated in 1971 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and joined the United States Secret Service shortly thereafter.

Law enforcement career

His career included eight years assigned to the Presidential Protective Division in Washington D.C. and fourteen years as a criminal investigator in Chicago. McCarthy was the Special Agent in Charge of the Secret Service Chicago Division from 1989 until his retirement in October 1993.

Reagan assassination attempt

Main article: Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan

After Hinckley began to fire, McCarthy deliberately put himself in the line of fire and spread his body in front of Reagan to make himself a target. Although all Secret Service agents are trained to take a bullet for the President, only four have actually done so. Besides McCarthy, officer Leslie Coffelt of the White House Police Force was killed and officers Donald Birdzell and Joseph Downs were wounded in the 1950 Truman assassination attempt.

Post-Secret Service career

McCarthy has served as Chief of the Orland Park Police Department since May 1994, and, in 1997, he unsuccessfully ran for Illinois Secretary of State as a Democrat.

Private life

He is married and has three children.

In 1999, he earned a Master of Science degree in Criminal/social justice from Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]