DEL.ICIO.USSuper-tall cop polices Central Gwinnett High
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thursday, September 18, 2008
When the school bell rings, Officer Wes Hardin towers over logjams in the hallways at Central Gwinnett High like a human traffic control tower.
At 7 feet tall, Hardin stands out in a crowd even without his uniform and badge.
Kimberly Smith/ksmith@ajc.com
District School Resource Officer Wes Hardin is responsible for the schools in the Central Gwinnett High School cluster, where he keeps an eye on security issues involving students and staff.
The 270-pound Gwinnett County Schools resource officer can look NBA star Shaquille O’Neal squarely in the eyes, click the cuffs on lawbreakers, talk a teen out of mischief and assuage agitated soccer moms.
“I do it all — I’m like a Super Wal-Mart,” jokes Hardin, 36. “I’m chief of police for the Central Gwinnett School Cluster. I’m the chief patrolman, the chief investigator. I’m one-stop shopping.”
Hardin, who played college basketball, joined Gwinnett’s school police department in February. He has the same basic duties of most metro officers on beats, but he also teaches classes, maps out safety plans and changes the lives of troubled students.
And even though he’s large, people don’t seem to be intimidated by his size.
“He’s a good guy, really easy to talk to,” says senior Tyler Hayles.
Hardin’s easy-going smile, movie star looks, and unusual height have been known to melt the ice with strangers. “I have always got that goofy smile on my face,” he said. “I got taught a long time ago if you treat people with respect, they will treat you that way. Life is so much easier when you are nice.”
At birth Hardin, who now wears a size 16 shoe, weighed 9 pounds and was 23 inches long. His height came from his mother’s side of the family — she’s 5 feet 11 inches tall. She always reminded him to “sit up straight” and “be proud” of being tall, even though she had a difficult time with her height as a child, Hardin said.
As a seventh-grader, he was 6 feet 2 inches. In eighth grade he had another growth spurt. “By the end of the year I was 6-8 and a half. I was eating all the time.”
His height has inspired a variety of nicknames over time: Stretch, Tree, Too-tall, Big Wes. Some of the kids at school affectionately call him “Po-po.”
His height and basketball skills earned him a scholarship to University of Mississippi. He left before graduation to pursue a professional basketball career. When his hoop dreams died in 1995, he turned to policing, his other dream job. He recently completed his bachelor’s degree.
Hardin has worked as a sheriff’s deputy in Bartow County, a patrol officer in Duluth, a lieutenant in Doraville, and a motorcycle cop in Lawrenceville riding a specially outfitted Harley before joining Gwinnett County Schools. Now he drives in a specially built police car to accommodate his super size.
“No matter what is going on everyone says, ‘How tall are you? Did you ever play basketball?’” says Hardin. “Soon we are talking a building a rapport.”
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