Meet our Deputy of the Year Celese Sharbutt.

My name is Celese Sharbutt, some of you may know me as “speedy”. I am 26 years old and I grew up on the west side of morgan county graduating from Danville High School in 2012. After high school I took my education to the next level at Wallace State Community College where I played basketball and studied criminal justice. I am the first in my family to ever pursue a career in law enforcement.

I began my career with Morgan County in January 2018 as a corrections officer with one goal in mind…. become a patrol deputy for the Sheriff’s Office. Eager to learn, I quickly joined the Reserve Deputy program where I spent most of my time riding on patrol with Captain Shands after working my 12-hour shift in the jail. This allowed me to see firsthand what life was like on patrol. It did not take long to know that this is the career I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

January 2019 is when my dreams came true and my life changed forever. After months of hard work, I got the wonderful news that I had been selected to go to the Law Enforcement Academy. I spent 13 long weeks in Tuscaloosa at the Law Enforcement Academy and graduated in July 2019.
I knew coming into this career as a female that it wasn’t going to be easily worked to be up for the challenge since day one. After completing my Field Training Program I began work the night shift on patrol.

I quickly discovered an interest in narcotics and saw their destructive grip on families and aware of those that seek to take advantage of addiction. On just my fourth night of patrol after initiating a traffic stop and seizing a little over 18 grams of methamphetamine. Some say it was beginner’s luck but I didn’t let that stop me. I continued to make several felonies and misdemeanor drug arrests eventually finding myself being the 2nd in drug arrest in just my first year. Although it is nearly impossible to confiscate all the drugs in the county any amount makes a huge difference to me as I grew up seeing their negative affect on people’s lives.
I am a firm believer in proactive policing and although narcotics has been a focus, it’s not the only thing that excites me about the job. I am eager to go to work everyday and answer every call for service to the best of my ability. I am truly passionate at what I do and it’s very exciting to be able to make even the slightest difference. I love serving the people of Morgan County and I will do so with honor and integrity for the remainder of my career.
Many calls for help, arrests, vehicle and foot pursuits, later I am thankful to be here and I am so blessed that God has given me the skills, ability and opportunity to serve and protect Morgan County. I am and will forever be grateful.” -Celese Sharbutt Deputy of the Year

📸Heather Whitt
From Morgan County Sheriffs Office