Keep Up With Global Black News

Sign up to our newsletter to get the latest updates and events from the leading Afro-Diaspora publisher straight to your inbox.

BY Dollita Okine, 3:25pm November 15, 2023,

Georgia lawmaker voted out after being found passed out outside a bar to sue

by Dollita Okine, 3:25pm November 15, 2023,
Following the incident's public release, Franklin was voted out of her vice chairship, but she is still a county official. Photo Credit: LinkedIn, Felicia Franklin

Felicia Franklin, Vice Chair of the Clayton County Board of Commissioners, was discovered outside a sports bar in recently released body cam footage.

According to the DailyMail, the police discovered Franklin unconscious outside the 404 Sports Bar and Grill in Morrow, Georgia, on September 29, the evening after she had attended an event.

Police bodycam footage shows her screaming and crying and, at one point, shouting, “I don’t know what they gave me,” before hurling abuse at emergency personnel.

She became more aggressive, and staff had to restrain her hands and strap her to an ambulance bed. She also asked them to get her mother, yelling at them to “get the f*** out of my face.”

When an officer told her, “Ma’am, you’re about to go to jail,” she replied, “I don’t give a f***; get him out of my face.”

Ambulance staff eventually manage to get her to the hospital, where she is transferred to a bed and becomes even more upset, calling out for her mother. Her friend was heard on camera reporting that she was taking medication for a sinus infection and that she had been sick recently.

Following the incident’s public release, Franklin was voted out of her vice chair position, but she is still a county official. Regarding her disposal, Jeff Turner, the chairman of the Clayton County Board of Commissioners, stated, “The video spoke for itself. What more can we say? We represent the citizens of Clayton County, and we have to make sure we present ourselves in a way that our citizens are going to be proud of us.”

However, during the meeting, the ex-vice chair allegedly called the decision to vote her out illegal and announced her intention to run for the position of board chairwoman.

She posted on Facebook: “Today two of my political opponents are holding a special called meeting to replace me as Vice Chair of the board with another commissioner.”

“This move by them, will free up more of my time a month early so that I can fully commit to becoming elected to the Chairman’s seat so that we can finally move our county forward.”

Despite her initial claims that she was drugged with a date rape drug, police have refuted her story, stating that she tested positive for alcohol and cannabis but not for the drug.

Sgt. Scott Stewart from Morrow police told Fox5, “We have found no evidence to support that she was in fact drugged with GHB.”

According to the police, they saw footage of Franklin entering the 404 Sports Bar & Grill by herself and placing multiple drink orders. According to the police, Franklin had three ‘That’s a home run’ drinks, which contained 40-proof Hennessy and Grand Marnier, a glass of wine, and a swig of someone else’s beer, according to the CCTV.

Cops confronted her with receipts and told her she had more than the two drinks she claimed in video interviews. She replied, “I didn’t have five drinks… I had five drinks? I don’t remember having five drinks.” And when the police showed her her receipt from the bar, she said: “I didn’t even order food, other people had this, I didn’t drink that.”

Investigators claimed there was no evidence of tampering with her drinks and that a toxicology report revealed cannabis in her system.

Stewart said: “She refused a blood test, but she did have a urinalysis, and it showed positive for cannabinoids, also known as cannabis.”

Stewart told the DailyMail that the case had been “closed” and the EMTs had decided not to press charges.

Franklin is now planning to sue Clayton County for removing her from her vice chair position.

Last Edited by:Mildred Europa Taylor Updated: November 15, 2023

Conversations

Must Read

Connect with us

Join our Mailing List to Receive Updates

Face2face Africa | Afrobeatz+ | BlackStars

Keep Up With Global Black News and Events

Sign up to our newsletter to get the latest updates and events from the leading Afro-Diaspora publisher straight to your inbox, plus our curated weekly brief with top stories across our platforms.

No, Thank You