Paul McCarthy

Massachusetts State Police — Framingham, MA

Suicide Honored

End of Watch July 1, 2006

Age 41

Tour of Duty 21 yrs

The Vigil Panel 227 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 37

Survivors

Wife Janice McCarthy of Andover, Massachusetts; children Christopher, Paul, and Shannon

Biography

Paul McCarthy served the Massachusetts State Police for 21 years, rising to the rank of Captain. In 1993, while on duty, he was run over by a stolen transit bus and trapped in his vehicle for 45 minutes. He was also struck by drunk drivers on two separate occasions during his career. These incidents were the origin of the PTSD that would carry him through more than a decade of silent suffering. Before his death in July 2006, he wrote a memo on State Police stationery documenting what he saw as the shortcomings in how the department cared for its troopers mental health — a document his wife Janice later brought before the Massachusetts legislature. He was 41 years old. He died on his daughter Shannon's 14th birthday.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-MA-E5B27954
Stewardship: Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw: April 2, 2026
Last updated: July 23, 2026

Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.

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Tributes

Captain Paul McCarthy served with the Massachusetts State Police.
Thank you for your service. We will always remember your sacrifice.
You belong on this wall. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Department Massachusetts State Police

Location Framingham, MA

Platform Identity masp.ma.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch July 1, 2006

Tour of Duty 21 yrs

Age 41

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Suicide

Captain Paul McCarthy is one of 256 officers honored for deaths connected to the weight of the job across the full record of this memorial — 0.8% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In MA, 9 of 469 officers were honored for deaths connected to the weight of the job — 1.9% of this state's fallen. That is 1.1 percentage points above the national rate of 0.8%.

At Massachusetts State Police, 2 of 38 officers on record were honored for deaths connected to the weight of the job — 5.3% of this agency's fallen.

Massachusetts State Police

of 38 officers

5.3% Suicide

MA — Statewide

of 469 officers

1.9% Suicide

Nationwide

256

of 32,508 officers

0.8% Suicide