Protecting the Public, Then and Now: Gary McCarthy’s Ongoing Safety Mission

For Gary McCarthy, a career in law enforcement was practically written into his DNA.

Growing up in Phoenix, Gary was surrounded by the profession. His great uncle and his father both served as police officers. Still, his first dream wasn't a badge. It was a baseball glove. A catcher through junior college, Gary once aspired to go pro before injuries sidelined that path. But at 13 years old, during a ride-along with his father, his trajectory changed for good.

"The first call we went to was a shooting," he recalls. "Lights and sirens, racing across Phoenix, I remember thinking, this is the coolest job ever."

From that moment on, he knew that if baseball ended, law enforcement would begin.

And it did, for 25 years.

A Career Built on Service and Safety

Over the course of his law enforcement career that began in 1994, Gary served in a range of roles, ultimately rising to bureau chief with the Arizona Department of Transportation-Enforcement and Compliance Division.

But the years that stand out most were the early ones on the front lines as a DUI enforcement motorcycle officer and a supervisor in various Arizona communities, investigating serious injury and fatal crashes.

For a decade, Gary worked vehicular crimes, delivering next-of-kin notifications, investigating collisions, and helping families navigate unimaginable loss. The work was intense, often tragic, and deeply personal.

"You realize quickly what this job is really about," he says. "It's about trying to prevent having to knock on someone's door and tell them their loved one isn't coming home."

Those experiences shaped not only his enforcement philosophy but also his leadership approach. A self-described servant leader, Gary focused on supporting the people under his command. As his span of control grew, his mission remained the same: take care of the troops and make decisions that improve safety outcomes on the ground.

He later oversaw Arizona's commercial vehicle enforcement operations, including state ports of entry and international ports of entry. There, he championed collaboration with industry stakeholders, working to improve both roadway safety and freight efficiency. A border training initiative with Mexican drivers doubled daily freight trips across the border, increasing incomes for drivers while enhancing safety compliance.

"It was about partnership," Gary says. "What can we do to make it safer, more efficient, and better for everyone?"

Two years before his planned retirement, Gary was sent to Bend, Oregon, to learn about autonomous commercial trucks. After decades investigating crashes caused by distraction, impairment, and fatigue, he saw firsthand how automated driving systems could eliminate many of those risk factors.

"The truck doesn't get tired. It doesn't get impaired. It doesn't drive aggressively," he says. "I remember thinking, this could be a game changer."

Fast forward to today and Gary has now been Aurora Innovation's Head of First Responder Policy for more than four years, serving as a bridge between emerging technology and public safety professionals across the country.

He works with law enforcement, fire, EMS, and federal agencies to prepare first responders for interactions with autonomous trucks. His philosophy is simple: communicate early, often, and transparently.

Gary takes both a top-down and bottom-up approach, engaging executives while also training officers and troopers on the ground. He works years in advance with states preparing for autonomous operations, ensuring agencies are comfortable, trained, and not caught off guard.

"Officers have dealt with 'driverless' vehicles before," he notes. "A DUI driver passed out behind the wheel. A hit-and-run. A medical emergency. You still do your job. You just gather the information in a slightly different way."

Focused on the Industry's Toughest Challenges

As a LEAB member, Gary's priorities align closely with the trucking industry's most pressing safety concerns. At the top of that list is distracted and impaired driving. Having investigated countless collisions, Gary has seen how even a split second of inattention can mean the difference between a near-miss and a fatality.

"If we can move the needle on those two issues alone, we save lives," he says.

He is also focused on cargo theft, which he believes is vastly underreported and under-prosecuted. Too often, thefts span multiple jurisdictions without coordinated enforcement, allowing organized criminals to operate with little consequence. Gary sees a clear opportunity for stronger multi-jurisdictional cooperation and federal task force models like those used for other organized crimes.

Beyond theft and traffic safety, Gary is attentive to truck parking challenges and remains committed to combating human trafficking - an issue he worked on as a member of Arizona's Human Trafficking Council - recognizing the important role the transportation industry can play in prevention and awareness.

With LEAB, he'll continue to bridge the gap between innovation and enforcement, always focused on the greater good. Whether he's in the public or private sector, the pride remains the same.

"Moving freight 24/7 during weekends, nights, holidays - it reminds me of policing," he says. "The mission never stops."