(Ken Silva, Headline USA) In February 2023, Jacqueline Maguire, the FBI’s special agent in charge of its Philadelphia office, shot and killed a dog while she was off-duty on a busy downtown street.
Maguire’s career has seemingly skyrocketed ever since.
Not only did law enforcement decline to press charges against Maguire last year; the FBI decided to promote her to be the bureau’s Assistant Director of the Training Division, according to former FBI agent Kyle Seraphin, who announced news in August 2023.
Maguire’s stint at the training division was short lived. On Thursday, the FBI announced that she’s landed another senior position, this one helping lead the Science and Technology Branch.
The dog killer's sting at the Training Division was short-lived. The FBI announced another cushy senior position for her today. https://t.co/BCxEVNv8wv pic.twitter.com/iJr00NVybl
— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) October 24, 2024
“Director Christopher Wray has named Jacqueline Maguire as the executive assistant director of the Science and Technology Branch. Ms. Maguire most recently served as the assistant director of the Training Division,” the FBI announced Thursday.
The FBI included other biographical details about Maguire—but didn’t mention that she’s killed a dog.
“Ms. Maguire joined the FBI as a special agent in 2000, joining the New York Field Office as a member of the Joint Terrorism Task Force. She was the lead agent for the investigation of the five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77 after the 9/11 terror attacks,” the FBI said Thursday.
“Prior to joining the FBI, Ms. Maguire worked at the Office of the Medical Examiner in Suffolk County, New York. She earned a bachelor’s degree in comprehensive science from Villanova University, a master’s degree in criminal justice from Long Island University, and a master’s degree in homeland defense and security from the Naval Postgraduate School.”
Maguire shot the dog, a pit bull, with her service weapon on Feb. 21, 2023.
Jane Roh, a spokesperson for the District Attorney’s Office, reportedly told the Philadelphia Inquirer that surveillance footage of the shooting showed that Maguire was sitting on a bench near The Touraine apartment complex with her dog, when the pit bull, a 7-year-old named Mia, “rushed forward” and pulled Maguire’s dog off of her lap.
Maguire responded by pulling out her weapon and firing at the dog.
Mia and her owner, Maria Esser, were reportedly taken to an emergency medical facility, where the pit bull later died, according to Philly Voice.
“There is no justice,” Esser told CBS. “My dog has been taken from me. Something that should’ve been preventable. Something that should’ve never happened.”
The shooting sparked scrutiny and criticism over Maguire’s use of force against the pit bull, who was described by the FBI as an “aggressive dog.”
Regardless of whether the pit bull was attacking Maguire’s dog, Seraphin noted that the FBI agent had no right to draw and fire her service weapon.
“There is no provision to defend your dog with the weapon you are issued by the FBI and you are required to use it in accordance the DOJ’s policies on Deadly Force,” he said.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
