'All My Children' Star Shane McDermott Busted for Drunk in Public

"All My Children" star Shane McDermott was on the run from cops -- literally -- but they were gonna let him go, until he demanded they arrest him. Brilliant!

Cops in Galveston, TX tell us ... Shane was drinking early Sunday morning at a bar and got into a verbal altercation, bolted outside and started running down the middle of the street around 2 AM. Cops spotted him and asked where he was headed.

Shane said home, only to be informed he was running in the wrong direction. We mentioned he was boozing, right? Cops gave him 2 options: get a ride home or get arrested.

He chose door #2, telling cops ... "Arrest me now!" Again. Booze.

Shane, who ya might also remember from the 90s teen flick, "Airborne" ... was busted for public intoxication, and took a grinning mug shot to rival Melissa Etheridge.

He got a $241 fine, but more importantly ... one helluva story.