Detective Noel Don McGuire

Noel Don McGuire

Detective Noel Don McGuire was shot and killed while working a vice detail.

Detective McGuire had stopped a suspicious vehicle at Roosevelt and Arch Streets that ran a red light and questioned the subjects around 3:15 a.m. As he returned to his cruiser, one of the subjects shot him in the back, leg, and stomach. Detective McGuire was able to call for help on his radio.

Unbeknownst to him, the suspects had just committed an armed robbery in a neighboring county, shooting the clerk. Both suspects were arrested five hours later at a roadblock in Oklahoma by state police officers. Both, 15 and 16, were wanted for questioning in Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, and Wisconsin about several crimes. The 15-year-old shooter and his 16-year-old accomplice were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. As of December 13, 2022, the 15-year-old, now 57, was in prison. He has committed 19 major disciplinary violations.

Detective McGuire had served with the Little Rock Police Department for five years. He was survived by his parents.

Among those in attendance at his funeral were then-governor and future U.S. President Bill Clinton. Don met with Gov. Clinton when he applied for a job with the Capitol and Governor's security force.

In 1982, the Little Rock Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #17 changed its name to the Noel Don Mcguire Memorial Lodge# 17.