Major Ron Hartley talks about his 40 years on the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office staff, most of which he was in charge of the 450-square-mile area of South County. Here he’s reminiscing about some of the funny things that have happened behind the scenes. Penny Fletcher photo.
You have to dig deep to find anyone with stronger roots in South Hillsborough County.
Major Ron Hartley has commanded District IV of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office for much of his 40 years on the force, but his time here goes back much farther than that.
As Hartley sat in his office and talked about his life, the people he’s met and the experiences he’s had, his face lit up with smiles that ended in laughter more times than not.
“The tales of his exploits are legendary among his fellow deputies, and these stories will undoubtedly linger for many years to come,” said Lt. Rob Rodriguez. “It has been a pleasure and honor to serve with this great man!”
Despite the many crimes Hartley has ended, the criminals he’s chased, the staff he’s commanded and the desperate people he’s met, he still views the world — especially South County — with hope, pride and laughter.
“I’ll always just be a cop on the beat,” Hartley said between sips of coffee from his huge mug, feet on his desk — for that moment at least, completely relaxed and at ease. “I’ll always think like that.”
That’s probably why he’s moving on after his retirement Jan. 9 from leading District IV to a position of teaching, consulting, and working on how crime statistics are measured by the FBI.
His “retirement” is actually just a change of pace.
But back to his history in the 450-square-mile area now known as “South County.”
Hartley was born and raised here, but back then it was filled with strawberry fields, orange groves and cattle — not tourists and traffic.
After graduating from Turkey Creek High School at 17, he enlisted in the Coast Guard, served four years, then worked for a year as a cowboy in the area that is now the upscale subdivision of FishHawk Ranch. Both his family and the family of his wife Janice were farmers.
Back then, Florida had strawberry schools. Based on the crops, he explained, the school year would include the summer and then let out during strawberry season — around January through March — so the children could work in the fields with their elders.
“It was really country,” he said. “We didn’t have to wear shoes until the 9th grade (in Turkey Creek’s elementary school). I had teachers that had taught my mama.”
After the Coast Guard, and the year working cows, Hartley tested for the Marine Patrol.
“I found out I’d have had to move to Miami, and I wanted to stay here,” he said. So at that point in his life, he enlisted again — this time in the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, where he’s moved through the ranks over the years to lead the county’s largest district. Despite its size, it has the lowest crime rate in all of Hillsborough.
Along the way, he and Janice raised their three children and now have grandchildren.
At 63, his memories include being the only Coast Guardsman on his ship licensed to drive a semi truck; what he calls his “two years of purgatory” while supervising a training school for resource deputies; the football rivalry between his high school and that of the late Vince Thompson when they played each other in 1968 — it is Thompson after whom the latest elementary school in Ruskin is named — and more than 800 people turning out for a fundraiser fish fry sponsored by the sheriff’s office.
“They say I make the world’s best hush puppies, and that’s the truth,” he said, laughing.
His experiences are many and he tells them with wit.
In the beginning of his four decades of local law enforcement he had troubles with his weapon because he’s left-handed and the holsters are made for right-handed people. He’s gone from multimillion-dollar mansions to homeless camps; and gained the respect of his deputies.
His “retirement” from the force will include overseeing his 123 acres in Alabama; taking care of some rental properties; growing hay and peaches on his mother’s land; and “making my grandkids spoiled brats as paybacks for my kids.”
Too many deputies spoke on his behalf to include them all in this story.
Captain Steve Launikitis has known Hartley more than 30 years and says he has learned a lot from him.
Hartley’s administrative specialist Barbara Martin says that “No matter who you are, you always know where you stand with him.”
And Lt. Howard Wooden adds that “Major Hartley is a great leader and cop, one who sees the world more clearly than most. Many of us who work with him think he has a crystal ball or is just plain psychic. In fact, he often tells us, ‘I’m psychedelic’ and we all laugh at his play on words, especially because we know he is usually right. The bad guys never stand a chance.”
He evidently gets his stamina from his mother, Agnes Hartley, who — in her 80s — is still working as a cashier at the Cracker Barrel in Brandon.
Major Rob Bullara, who has been with Child Protective Services for 33 years, will step up to head District IV when Hartley leaves, but he does not claim to attempt to fill his shoes.
