Kankakee Public Library Podcasts

Orland Park Police Chief and retired Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy visited the Kankakee Public Library on Thursday, January 19, 2012. Chief McCarthy has the unenviable status of being the only Secret Service agent to be shot as he hurled his body in front of a President during an assassination attempt. McCarthy was wounded in the chest on March 30, 1981 when John Hinckley Jr. fired shots into Ronald Reagan’s entourage. He tells the vivid story of how he was put in the position to protect President Reagan that day by a literal flip of a coin. Chief McCarthy also talks in detail about his duties guarding President Harry S. Truman on his death bed, working on the protection details of Presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush, and working anti-counterfeiting stings. His wealth of anecdotes gives the listener a fascinating insider’s view of the mysterious workings of the Secret Service.