Alabama man poses for photo with deputies who nabbed him after chase

LACEY'S SPRING, Ala. — Heath Swafford’s arrest was not a typical one.

After the Alabama man led Morgan County sheriff’s deputies on a brief foot chase, he posed, at his own request, for a photo with the deputies who captured him.

Swafford, 24, of Lacey’s Spring, was jailed Saturday on four felony probation revocation warrants, according to Morgan County jail records. On probation for possession/receipt of stolen property, possession of burglar’s tools and criminal mischief, he was ordered to be held without bond following Saturday’s arrest.

Swafford also faces additional drug and property crimes, according to the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies said he had heroin and methamphetamine on him when he was arrested.

A post on the Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook page states that Swafford, who was being sought on the warrants, led deputies on a brief foot chase through Lacey’s Spring, an unincorporated community at the base of Brindlee Mountain in northeast Morgan County.

“Deputies were able to talk the subject into surrendering by expressing their desire to help him get away from the drug usage,” the Facebook post reads.

Once he was in custody, the deputies said they found the drugs on Swafford. They also found at his home a motorcycle that had been reported stolen from Huntsville about 15 miles away from Lacey’s Spring.

“In an unusual turn, Swafford requested a photo with the arresting deputies,” the post read.

The photo shows a grinning and handcuffed Swafford leaning against a Sheriff’s Office SUV. Three deputies pose alongside him.

The Facebook post had been shared hundreds of times as of Thursday morning.

“Good times,” one woman wrote.

“It’s good to see the humor side of the law,” a man wrote.

Someone with the Sheriff’s Office responded to the comments.

“We try to make most arrests as enjoyable as possible,” the official wrote.

“And a good time was had by all!” another man wrote.

A woman who appears to know Swafford took a more serious tone.

“Heath, I really pray you get the help you need,” she wrote. “I’ve known you for a long time and when the dope isn’t in your system and you’re clean, you’re a wonderful man.

“Please for your family and dad’s sake, seek help to rid yourself of these evil drugs.”

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