By Jeremy Arias
The Frederick News-Post
FREDERICK, Md. — Rita Potter was having one of the worst days of her life when she met one of the kindest people she knows, a Frederick County sheriff’s deputy named Bryce McGuire.
Lying in the parking lot of the Giant in Kingsbrook Crossing on June 9, Potter was focused entirely on the pain in her right hand after a car backed out too quickly and struck her, sending her and her groceries sprawling to the pavement. Distracted for a moment by the sound of a siren from an approaching ambulance, Potter was surprised when she saw three people standing over her.
“I remember I was bleeding and crying and suddenly, when I looked up, there were three sheriff’s deputies there already on the scene,” Potter said.
Potter also remembered a bystander, Tina Harris, who sat with her and comforted her as the deputies tried to bring the chaotic scene under control.
The next few moments were a blur as emergency medical personnel tended to Potter’s bleeding right hand and loaded her into the ambulance.
As the ambulance was preparing to take Potter to Frederick Memorial Hospital, Deputy 1st Class McGuire stepped inside to talk to Potter.
“He had brought my purse and he said, ‘Ma’am, would it be all right if I took your keys? I’ll drive your car home and put your groceries in your refrigerator,’” Potter said. “And I said yes, because he was a police officer and I thought how kind he was to offer to do that for me.”
Harris drove Potter’s car to Potter’s home in Crestwood Village while McGuire followed her in his squad car and the two quickly put away Potter’s groceries, taking care to put the perishable items in the refrigerator, then headed to the hospital to meet Potter.
Having formed a bond when Potter commented on Harris’ Christian necklace and their mutual faith in God, Harris decided to spend the rest of the day with Potter to make sure she wasn’t alone.
“I thought to myself, ‘God will forgive me today,’ because I missed my Bible study, but I was right where I needed to be,’” Harris said, looking back.
McGuire also stayed for as long as he could before he had to respond to another call, staying with the two women while Potter received treatment and stitches for a deep cut to her right hand.
“He was so genuinely nice that day, because I said to him, ‘Don’t you have to go back to work?’” Harris said of the deputy’s concern. “And he said, ‘Tina, I am working, because I’m here to protect the citizens of Frederick County.’”
When Potter was released later that day, Harris drove her to the pharmacy to pick up medicine prescribed by the doctor, then took her home and helped her inside.
In the days since, both Harris and McGuire have kept in touch with Potter. Harris visited her new friend the next day and now calls about once a week, while McGuire and another sheriff’s deputy paid a visit just last weekend, Potter said.
“I see two police officers at my door and I said, ‘Officers, whatever it is, I didn’t do it!’” Potter said with a laugh. “And then I looked a little closer and it was Officer McGuire and he said, ‘Hi, ma’am, I just wanted to see how you were doing.’”
Impressed with McGuire’s solicitousness, Potter wrote a thank-you letter to the sheriff’s office commending his actions and followed up by contacting his supervisor, Sgt. Amanda Ensor.
“These are the types of calls that supervisors rarely ever hear about, and I’m very proud of the way he handled it,” Ensor said when reached for comment Thursday. “He truly is a deputy that needs no supervision, treats citizens with respect, and does an outstanding job handling his calls.”
Agreeing with Potter that McGuire went above and beyond his duties, Ensor said she planned to submit the call to the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce, which holds a Public Safety Awards event every year in March.
Ensor also described McGuire as a humble man, preferring to handle his calls in a quiet way without seeking attention.
“Until Mrs. Potter left me a voice mail, I had no clue about any of this,” Ensor said. “He truly feels like he was doing what he would do for any citizen in that situation.”
True to Ensor’s words, McGuire was modest, responding to The Frederick News-Post’s requests for comment on Thursday with a simple, one-sentence email:
“I just did my job, sir.”
Copyright 2018 The Frederick News-Post