Timothy J. McCarthy (born June 20, 1949) is an American retired police officer and special agent of the U.S. Secret Service.

After the assassination attempt, McCarthy was hailed as a hero and received the NCAA Award of Valor in 1982.

[8] McCarthy was the special agent in charge of the Secret Service Chicago Division from 1989 until his retirement in October 1993.

At the last minute, the Secret Service received a request for an officer to provide protection to Reagan for an AFL-CIO luncheon on March 31.

McCarthy ran an outsider campaign that took a law-enforcement approach to the Secretary of State's office including standardized DUI tests and easier to read license plates.

The award cited his legislative advocacy, supervision of the building of the country's first police station to receive a LEED Gold certification, working to establish the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force, promoting crisis intervention training for officers and the use of Narcan to prevent heroin overdoses.

[4][21] He later served as the corporate vice president of a security systems company, and appeared in speaking engagements at schools and conventions, where he related his experiences as a Secret Service Agent during the Reagan administration.

[17] McCarthy was interviewed in 2016 about the release of John Hinckley Jr., stating, "I don't have to agree with it, but I expected it.