McCarthy is married and has three children.<ref name="Chief of Police"/>
McCarthy was interviewed in 2016 about the release of John Hinckley Jr., and responded: "I don't have to agree with it, but I expected it. There are very few cases that people, after a period of time, are not viewed as no longer being a danger to themselves or others. I hope they're right about it. It's a big decision. I give the judge credit. That's what he gets paid for."<ref>Ben Nuckols and Joe Mandak (August 1, 2016). [http://bigstory.ap.org/article/2d8cd4f8faf84755898a573c993c9efd/wounded-officers-struggle-news-hinckleys-release John Hinckley story] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161026001859/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/2d8cd4f8faf84755898a573c993c9efd/wounded-officers-struggle-news-hinckleys-release |date=2016-10-26 }}</ref>
