Chief McEwen served for 13 years as the Chief of Police for the Cayuga Heights (NY) Police Department before moving on to serve as the Deputy Commissioner for the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services. He later returned to police work, serving as the Chief of Police for the City of Ithaca (NY) before taking the position of Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI. In addition, he served for more than 37 years as the Chairman of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Communications & Technology Committee. During that time he was the principal representative and spokesperson for the IACP on matters relating to communications and technology.