JACKSON, Miss — The Mississippi Highway Patrol announced the death of former Mississippi Department of Public Safety Commissioner and Chief of the Mississippi Highway Patrol David Huggins Friday.
Huggins, a resident of Brandon and native of Biggersville, Mississippi, passed away due to health complications on Wednesday afternoon. He was 74 years old.
Huggins started his career in the early 1960s at the Alcorn County Sheriff’s Department. One of the first homicides he helped investigate was the case of McNairy County, Tennessee, Sheriff Buford Pusser’s wife, who was killed in August 1964.
From there, he went on to become a State Trooper and in 1969 he was assigned to Tunica, Mississippi.
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In his lengthy career of working for the State of Mississippi, Huggins was chosen to serve as Chief of the Mississippi Highway Patrol from 1988-1992 under Governor Ray Mabus. Then in 2000, Huggins was named Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety, he served in this role until 2004 under Governor Ronnie Musgrove.
After his time as Commissioner, he was Sergeant at Arms for the Mississippi Senate from 2004-2008, then became Chief Investigator for the State Auditor’s Office in 2008.
“Commissioner Huggins was a visionary, mentor, and friend,” said Colonel Randy Ginn. “We will not forget his legacy and the impact he has made on the lives of the men and women of this agency.”
Huggins also advocated for Mississippi House Bill 1159, which came to be known as the "David R. Huggins Act" in 2010, which ensured Mississippi State Patrol officers would be paid for every hour they worked.
