A Sevier County Sheriff's Office corrections officer was arrested Friday night and fired almost immediately after allegedly drinking while armed at a Seymour High School football game, according to the sheriff's office. Scottie Vineyard was taken into custody on site following an internal investigation and now faces criminal charges over the incident.
Vineyard allegedly drove a county-issued transport vehicle to the game while wearing an SCSO polo shirt displaying a badge insignia, according to a statement from Sheriff Michael Hodges reported by Smokies Live. Supervisors responded to the stadium near the end of the game after a bystander reported smelling alcohol on him. As WKRN News 2 reports, Vineyard was allegedly carrying a firearm at the time.
He was booked into the Sevier County Jail and charged with public intoxication and possession of a handgun while under the influence, according to WBIR. The arrest was carried out without incident by responding Sheriff's Office supervisors, and the station reports Vineyard was fired from his corrections officer position immediately afterward.
Sheriff Calls Firing an Accountability Test
Sheriff Michael R. Hodges Jr. publicly apologized to residents over the incident, saying he was “extremely disappointed and embarrassed” and that “accountability is not optional,” per the same account from Smokies Live. Hodges also praised the supervisors who responded to the stadium for acting immediately once they received the bystander's report.
Under Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-17-1321, possessing a handgun while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance is a Class A misdemeanor, which can carry up to 11 months and 29 days in jail and fines as high as $2,500, according to the Clarksville Criminal Defense Lawyer blog. Separately, Tennessee law under T.C.A. § 39-17-1350 explicitly strips a law enforcement officer of the statutory privilege to carry a firearm while consuming alcohol or under the influence, according to the UT County Technical Assistance Service. POST-certified officers otherwise carry broad firearm permissions, but those exemptions are conditioned on sobriety.
A Sheriff Facing Reelection Amid Repeated Scrutiny
Hodges has served with the Sevier County Sheriff's Office for more than 22 years, spending seven of those as Chief Deputy before he was elected sheriff in 2022, according to his campaign site, Hodges for Sheriff. He launched his 2026 reelection bid emphasizing departmental accountability and training improvements, a message now being tested by Vineyard's arrest.
This is not the department's first brush with alcohol-related scrutiny involving its own personnel. In December 2025, the sheriff's office investigated a late-night crash on Bent Road involving two off-duty officers in which alcohol was suspected as a factor, and Hodges publicly defended the department's investigation amid social media rumors at the time. In May 2025, the office also executed “Operation No Good Time,” a security crackdown that led to 20 indictments tied to a jail drug contraband ring.
Public school grounds in Sevier County have seen alcohol-related discipline cases before Vineyard's arrest. In 2021, a Sevier County High School athletics director was arrested for DUI on school property, according to WBIR; he later pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment and was eventually reinstated. It remains unclear whether Vineyard will face additional consequences beyond the public intoxication and handgun charges already filed.
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