Former police chief pleads not guilty to drug charges

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The former chief of the Atlantic Beach Police Department pleaded not guilty to nearly two dozen drug charges.

Michael Classey appeared before a judge at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement began investigating Classey last month after intercepting a package sent to him from India.

He faces 18 counts of possession of a controlled substance, one count of trafficking in codeine, tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia.