Photo courtesy of Brock Hardy.
Brock Hardy with his father, Mac Hardy, the former head of SROs for Hoover City Schools.
For many students, encounters with police officers in the school, like a visit to the principal’s office, often signaled trouble and negativity.
Sgt. Brock Hardy has made it his mission to change that in Hoover City Schools.
"What we don't want is the movie version where if you see us, it's not a good day," said Hardy, the newly promoted sergeant over the Hoover Police Department's school resource officer unit. "We're there every day, good or bad. We're there to help."
Hardy believes that philosophy has the power to change how an entire generation views law enforcement.
As the newly promoted sergeant over the Hoover Police Department's school resource officer unit, Hardy isn't trying to create a culture where students fear police officers. He's working to build one where they trust them — where a student who is struggling, scared or simply has a question knows exactly which adult to approach.
"We're there as a resource for each student that comes through those doors," Hardy said. "To make sure they're safe, that they have a quality learning environment and that they can go home mentally and physically the same as they arrived."
For Hardy, safety begins with relationships.
"It's being that constant presence with a smile on your face," he said. "Whether it's a fist bump or giving them a piece of candy or just giving them an open space that they can come and vent. Maybe that's all they need."
That perspective has become increasingly important as school resource officers continue to redefine their role in education. While emergency preparedness and campus security remain critical responsibilities, Hardy sees the greatest opportunity in the conversations that happen between drills, classroom visits and lunch periods.
"We're a constant presence," Hardy said, and that approach shapes everything from greeting students during morning arrival to teaching lessons on digital citizenship, constitutional rights and conflict resolution. At the elementary level, Hoover's SROs also teach Rocket Rules, helping kindergarten and first-grade students learn about bullying prevention, bicycle safety and when to call 911.
"We start building that foundation at a very young age," Hardy said.
The lessons are practical, but the larger purpose is relational.
Every classroom visit, every conversation and every familiar face in the hallway reinforces a message Hardy hopes students carry long after graduation — that law enforcement is not something to fear, but a resource they can trust.
"If you have a question, just come ask us," he said. "We're never going to think your question isn't important. If we don't know the answer, we can get to somebody who does."
That trust becomes especially important when students are faced with difficult decisions.
Hardy acknowledges that many young people still wrestle with the idea that reporting concerning behavior somehow makes them a "snitch." Changing that mindset, he believes, starts long before a crisis.
"There are certain things that they can't keep to themselves," Hardy said. "'See something, say something.' Getting to know their SRO and having that trust is so big. They can trust that they can come to us with anything. They're not just going to get in trouble. We're going to solve that problem."
Creating that environment requires consistency.
Students need to see officers helping with school events, greeting families at open houses, attending athletic competitions and partnering with counselors and administrators — not just responding when something goes wrong.
For Hardy, those everyday interactions are just as important as any emergency response plan.
His own path to that philosophy began long before he pinned on a badge.
Hardy grew up in Hoover City Schools before earning a degree in public administration from Auburn University. He began his law enforcement career with the Auburn Police Department before returning home to Hoover, where he later transferred into the school resource officer unit.
Photo by Kate Zills, courtesy of Brock Hardy.
Brock with wife, Emily, and sons, Rhett and Hayes.
Law enforcement always seemed like a possibility. His father, Mac Hardy, served with the Hoover Police Department and retired in 2016 as sergeant over the SRO unit. His grandfather was one of the founding members of the Hoover City Schools Board of Education.
Still, Hardy said becoming an officer wasn't simply about continuing a family tradition.
"I had a lot of time and prayer," he said. "God showed me that I needed to be outside and use my gift of talking with people. That's kind of where it led me to this route, and I'm very thankful for that."
Today, that gift is evident as much in conversation as in command.
Hardy describes school resource officers as mentors, informal counselors, educators and problem-solvers. Much of their work happens quietly alongside school counselors and administrators, helping students navigate conflict before situations escalate.
"Our hands are in a lot," Hardy said. "Conflict resolution ... being an informal counselor, mentor, somebody that the students can come to. Somebody they can trust. A positive role model."
While students often see the relationship-building side of the job, Hardy and his team are equally involved behind the scenes.
SROs regularly inspect campus security, check exterior doors and gates, coordinate lockdown drills, assist with tornado and fire preparedness, and work alongside local emergency management officials to ensure schools are prepared for a wide range of situations.
When asked to identify his primary goal, Hardy did not hesitate. "The main one is safety," he said.
But even those responsibilities point back to the same mission.
"We're here to help your student have that safe learning environment," he said. "But we're also here as a community resource for you."
That philosophy extends beyond students.
Hardy and Hoover's SROs frequently speak with parents during back-to-school events, PTO meetings and community gatherings, offering guidance on issues ranging from social media trends to online safety and emerging concerns affecting students.
For Hardy, building trust with families strengthens trust with children.
It's one reason he believes Hoover remains such a unique place to serve.
"You get all walks of life," he said. "We all can come together and find some common thing that brings us together. Even though it's a bigger city, we still have a small-town-type feel, especially in the schools."
He credits Hoover City Schools with creating opportunities that allow students to find where they belong, whether through career academies, extracurricular activities, peer-helping programs or the International Baccalaureate program.
"There's always somewhere that they feel special," Hardy said. "You can kind of fit in and find a place — a home."
Now, as sergeant, Hardy is helping shape the next generation of school resource officers while also serving as an instructor with the National Association of School Resource Officers. Hoover's SROs have been leading Camp Legacy, introducing rising sixth graders to leadership while giving them an opportunity to build relationships with officers before middle school begins.
Additionally, this summer, Captain Lowe, Hoover Police Department's patrol captain and public information officer, has watched Hardy grow into that leadership role.
"I was one of Mac Hardy's students when he was an SRO at Hoover High School," Lowe said. "I got to know Brock and just see him grow in his career here and do the same thing. It's just an amazing thing to watch him grow in his career."
Lowe said Hoover has long been committed to placing officers in every school within the district and fostering a strong partnership between the police department and Hoover City Schools.
"We're very fortunate to have somebody like Brock who gets to lead that unit," he said.
Hardy is quick to redirect the praise to the partnership itself, crediting Superintendent Kevin Maddox, Hoover City Schools administrators and Hoover Police Chief Clay Morris with sharing the same commitment.
"We're in this together," Hardy said. "We want our community to be the best, and to be the best, us working together is the way to strengthen it. We want everybody to come to school safe and leave safe."
For Hardy, that work will never be measured solely by emergency plans, safety drills or locked doors.
It will be measured in something less visible but far more lasting: whether the next generation grows up seeing a police officer not as someone to avoid, but as someone they already know by name.
