Mr. McGuire holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English from Wiley College and a Master of Arts (MA) in Dispute Resolution & Conflict Negotiation from Southern Methodist University. He is a Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified Insurance Fraud Investigator, and a Fraud Claims Law Specialist. He also has 13 years of law enforcement experience and holds Master Peace Officer Certification. Prior to, Mr. McGuire served in the United States Air Force Reserve and was deployed to the Middle East in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2012. He is also a proud father of two young men, and a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.
Mr. McGuire also has an extensive background in training. He has taught both police academy cadets and peace officer courses focusing on Professional Policing, Ethics and Cultural Diversity in Criminal Justice, and has been published multiple times in Law Officer Magazine. He was an Adjunct Instructor for the TCC Criminal Justice Training Center and served as a consultant to the Department of Justice (via the National Criminal Justice Training Center) where he created and instructed courses around contact between law enforcement and minority juveniles as well as the internal police culture. He has also taught courses on Effective Communication and Conflict Management to public safety and security officials in Kigali, Rwanda and Kamulu, Kenya.
During the interview we discussed the importance of education, how it can open up more avenues for you the sooner you take it seriously, and life at an HBCU. He also shared his experience teaching in Rwanda and explained how Africa not only changed his cultural world view, but also taught him the importance of being relational…
Until you get a chance to experience a culture somewhere else, it makes you appreciative to a certain standpoint. But it also kind of makes you feel like we’re missing out on something because that’s just not something we don’t do well in this country. We don’t relate to each other well. We don’t show that level of humanity!
In lieu of all the police brutality in the headlines (Know Their Names Memorial), and the ratio that black men and women are being killed (MappingPoliceViolence.org), we pivoted the interview to discuss police relations with the black community. Where black families teach their children to – come home safe, officers have a similar mantra to – do what you have to do to come home. Since Mr. McGuire served in law enforcement over a decade, I asked his perspective on the current events and ensuring our young people come home safe…
Typically what we’ve always been told is to just comply, do what you what you’re supposed to do and you’ll be fine. I think we’ve seen recently that that’s not always going to be the case… To me it’s a training issue, and even deeper than that, it’s an issue of the heart… The # 1 thing officers say after a use of force incident is they feared for their life. Don’t give them a reason to make that kind of statement.
Mr. McGuire discussed the added pressure on black officers, addressed the topic of defunding the police, and he shared what he tells his black sons to ensure their safety if they are pulled over. We also talked about multitasking and finding that balance between sharing the wealth and stretching ourselves too thin trying to be everything to everyone.
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