Timothy McCarthy

Timothy McCarthy

Timothy McCarthy (born June 20, 1949 in Chicago , Illinois ) is the police chief of Orland Park in Illinois. He is best known for his work in the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan .

Life

McCarthy graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1971 with a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and got a job with the United States Secret Service. He spent eight years in the President's Protection Department and 14 years as an investigator in Chicago. From 1989 to 1993 he was a senior officer in the Chicago Secret Service. Since May 1994 he has been the head of the Orland Park Police.

In 1998 he was a candidate for Secretary of State of Illinois , but was not elected. In 1999 he was awarded a Masters of Science degree in criminal justice from Lewis University . In recent years he has also worked for the security company Security Link and speaks to school classes about his work.

McCarthy is married with three children.

McCarthy in the assassination attempt

On March 30, 1981, Reagan was in Washington, DC on his way from the Hilton Hotel to his limousine. The Secret Service men were walking in formation around the President when suddenly shots rang out (six shots in 1.7 seconds). McCarthy gave the President, according to his training, cover with his body against the gunshots of the assassin John Hinckley, Jr. , one of which injured his stomach. Reagan was not directly hit by any of the bullets, but the moment he was pushed into the limo by Secret Service man Jerry Parr , he was hit by a ricochet that ricocheted off the presidential limousine bulletproof window glass and entered the president's left lung . He had completely recovered from this injury. The police officer Tom Delahanty suffered permanent damage from a shot in the neck and the press secretary James Brady from a frontal shot in the forehead.

Tim McCarthy was then operated on in the same hospital as Reagan, but was able to leave before the President. McCarthy, Parr and Delahanty were dubbed unsung heroes ( unsung heroes , read: not celebrated, silent heroes) by the television station CBS .

meaning

Timothy McCarthy is one of two Secret Service agents who intercepted a bullet destined for the incumbent President of the United States.

During his recovery, McCarthy received more than 50,000 well-being wishes, including one from the bomber's family. He later received a thank you letter from Ronald Reagan, with whose family he has befriended ever since.

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b c} Janice Min: Special Agent. People , January 31, 1994, accessed September 4, 2010 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b} biography. Police Department of the Village of Orland Park, accessed September 4, 2010 . 
3. ^ Biographical sketch of Timothy McCarthy. (No longer available online.) Law.umkc.edu, archived from the original on September 11, 2010 ; Retrieved September 4, 2010 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
4. ↑ Ellen Crean: He Took A Bullet For Reagan. CBS , June 11, 2004, accessed September 4, 2010 . 
5. ↑ Frequently Asked Questions by Kids (# 6). (No longer available online.) United States Secret Service , archived from the original on December 16, 2010 ; Retrieved September 4, 2010 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.