Former Gatlinburg Police Officer, Girlfriend Indicted on Drug Charges

A former Gatlinburg police officer is facing misconduct and drug charges after investigators say he distributed drugs while on duty with the department and alerted other drug traffickers to law enforcement activities.

According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, its special agents partnered with the 4th Judicial District Drug Task Force, Gatlinburg Police Department and Sevier County Sheriff’s Office in April 2016 to investigate allegations of illegal drug activity involving David Paul Goins, who was employed as an officer with the Gatlinburg Police Department.

“During the course of the investigation, agents developed information that while on duty, Goins was distributing methamphetamine,” TBI said in a release. “The investigation further revealed that he was also alerting other drug traffickers to law enforcement activity in the Gatlinburg area.”

Goins resigned from the department in July.

During an undercover operation in October 2016, TBI and DTF Agents purchased methamphetamine from Goins and his girlfriend Savannah Denise Ford in a public park.

The Sevier County Grand Jury returned indictments last week charging 36-year-old Goins with one count of Official Misconduct and one count of Sale and Delivery of Schedule II Drugs in a Drug-Free Zone. The Grand Jury also returned an indictment charging Ford, 28, with Sale and Delivery of Schedule II Drugs in a Drug-Free Zone.

Today, Goins was arrested and booked into the Sevier County Jail on a $50,000 bond. Ford was served in the Sevier County Jail, where she was already being held on unrelated charges. Her bond was set at $25,000.

All people are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.