Public safety commissioner plans to step down in January

ATLANTA - Georgia&#39;s top cop and homeland security coordinator - Robert Hightower - is resigning in early January. <br> <br> The step clears the way for Governor-elect Sonny Perdue to name his own appointee to the post. <br> <br> Hightower was Cobb County&#39;s public safety director when Governor Barnes tapped him in 1999 to become commissioner of the Department of Public Safety. The homeland security position was given him following the September 11th attacks. <br> <br> Barnes will leave office in January after losing his re-election bid. It&#39;s customary for top agency heads to resign when administrations change so the incoming governor can select his own team. <br> <br> Hightower told Barnes in a letter that the state job was the capstone of a 40-year career in law enforcement.