According to his obituary, Cranford died June 26 in Jackson, Alabama.
Born in Arab, Cranford worked as a Alabama state trooper for eight years before he was appointed police chief of Jackson in October 1967, the The South Alabamian reported.
Cranford's most famous arrest occurred March 22, 1971, at a Jackson truck stop, AL.com reported.
“His (Cranford's) instincts were good; the guys were a walking drugstore,” Scott Freeman wrote in his 1995 book, "Midnight Riders." “They were charged with possession of heroin, marijuana and phencyclidine, the animal tranquilizer better known as PCP."
According to a March 24, 1971, article in the Selma Times-Journal, the band had been traveling by car for an engagement at the University of Montevallo. They were held in the Clarke County Jail before each member posted a $2,000 bond the next day, the newspaper reported.
The band later reached an agreement with prosecutors by pleading guilty to disturbing the peace. The band members paid $4,000 in fines and court fees, AL.com reported.
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