Man drowns in rural Alabama pond while fleeing Troy police

Published 9:45 am Friday, January 18, 2019

TROY, Ala. (AP) — Authorities in Alabama say a man has died while attempting to flee police by swimming through a rural pond.

State Bureau of Investigation Lt. Heath Carpenter says the man fled on foot from a traffic stop Wednesday morning and then attempted to swim across the pond to evade Troy police.

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Carpenter tells Al.com that the pursuing officers then noticed the man’s swimming became distressed. Carpenter says one officer requested assistance before entering the pond in an unsuccessful attempt to rescue the man.

A dive team searched the pond and found the man’s body hours later. The man’s body was taken to the state Department of Forensic Sciences for identification and examination.

Troy police Chief Randall Barr requested the state Bureau of Investigation investigate the circumstances surrounding the man’s death.

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Information from: The Birmingham News, http://www.al.com/birminghamnews