Former public safety commissioner dies at 87

Longtime Ga. State Patrol trooper also served in military.

Charles “Hugh” Hardison, a Georgia State Patrol veteran and former head of the state public safety agency — remembered for his dedication to the job and proximity to a statewide scandal — died last Tuesday after battling a lengthy illness. He was 87.

Visitation and funeral services were scheduled for Monday.

After a tour of military service and a successful football career at Georgia Tech, Hardison first joined the Georgia State Patrol in 1954 as a trooper, according to a biography posted by his family on Smith and Miller Funeral Home’s website.

Hardison worked through the ranks to eventually become a colonel, and was named commissioner of the Department of Public Safety in 1979. He was known for giving his all and never asking for an unfair amount from his troopers, according to his family.

“He left his heartprint on all who knew and loved him,” the family wrote, adding that he was a “Trooper’s Trooper.”

After heading the public safety department, Hardison returned to his alma mater, Georgia Tech, where he was known for being a mentor in his role managing security for the athletic department. Many of the men and women he worked with later became troopers, according to his family.

The Georgia Tech job marked his return to a school where he won national acclaim as a member of both the 1952 Orange Bowl and 1953 Sugar Bowl championship teams. His coach was the legendary Bobby Dodd.

During his time in the military, Hardison served in the Navy and then went on a tour to Korea with the Marines.

The Department of Public Safety paid tribute to Hardison in a Facebook post: “He was known for going on morning runs with the cadets and being a huge Georgia Tech fan. Please keep his family and friends in your thoughts and prayers,” the agency wrote.

His time as commissioner was not marked without controversy, however. According to Atlanta Journal-Constitution archives, Hardison, a veteran of patrol for more than 30 years, was dismissed as commissioner following revelations of “ticket fixing” and other corruption within the agency.

The divisive dismissal sparked a debate about personal and political bias within then-Gov. Joe Frank Harris’ office.

Hardison, however, went on to serve Georgia Tech “honorably,” the school wrote in a tweet.

The current director of athletics, Todd Stansbury, said Hardison “was an invaluable member of the (Georgia Tech Athletics) family.” Hardison’s family saw his employment at Tech as a return to his “first love, football.”

In his spare time, Hardison liked to swim, shoot pool and spend time at his cabin in Cedartown, where he lived as a young boy. He also had black belts in both karate and judo.

Charles “Hugh” Hardison