Randy Brackins

Randy Brackins, chief of the Gatlinburg Police Department, has announced his intent to retire effective June 2. A 49-year veteran of law enforcement, Brackins has spent his entire career at the Gatlinburg Police Department, joining GPD in 1974. He worked his way up through the ranks, serving first as a police officer then being promoted to corporal in 1978, sergeant in 1980, captain in 1987, and was finally appointed the department’s chief in 2004. He is a graduate of the Walters State Community Public Safety Program and also taught classes for the program between 1998 and 2001. A member of the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police (TACP), Brackins was awarded the organization’s highest honor – the Joe Casey Award – in 2022.