The Georgia commissioner who cops found apparently drunk and passed out on the sidewalk outside a sports bar has sued her employers for firing her.
Clayton County dismissed their Board of Commissioners Vice Chair Felicia Franklin after the September incident in Morrow which saw her lash out at medics was caught on shocking body cam footage.
But Franklin told DailyMail.com that she’s filing a lawsuit against her former employer, claiming she was drugged.
Her lawsuit says her ‘evening took a turn for the worse’ and she was found ‘crying and clearly in a vulnerable position’ when cops arrived.
Franklin said the ‘traumatic and unfortunate incident’ came after she was ‘drugged with a “date rape” drug’ in her court documents.
Commissioner Felicia Franklin was found passed out on the street by officers in September
Footage from inside the bar appears to show Franklin being served drinks and dancing
The bodycam video showed police finding Franklin splayed on the ground outside the 404 Sports Bar and Grill in Morrow.
It shows her screaming and crying and at one point shouting ‘I don’t know what they gave me’ before beginning to hurl abuse at the emergency staff.
Medical staff arrived at the scene and had to strap her down to an ambulance bed and restrain her hands as she grew increasingly violent.
At other points she shouted at them to ‘get the f*** out of my face’ and asked them to get her mother.
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.
Franklin was voted out of her position of Vice Chair at the end of October
Franklin posted on Facebook that it was ‘believed’ she had been drugged with a GHB pill
In the video, her friend can be heard saying that she had been ill recently with a sinus infection and on medication.
After the video emerged, Franklin was voted out from her position as Vice Chair on October 23, with Chairman Jeff Turner saying: ‘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.’
Franklin reportedly called the move unlawful during the meeting to vote her out, and said she would run for the seat of chairwoman of the board.
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.’
In the days after the incident, she said she had a had a ‘very traumatic and unfortunate experience’, posting on Facebook: ‘It is believed by medical professionals that I was drugged with a GHB pill, more commonly known as the “date rape pill,” and this incident has shaken me to my core.
‘I will be working closely with authorities to ensure that justice is served, and I will also be advocating for improved safety measures at events like these.
‘No one should have to go through what I experienced, and I want to thank all of you for your support during this challenging time.’
Police checked her ID card to determine who she was
They had to help her up off the floor and onto a stretcher before she was loaded into an ambulance
Officers managed to load her into the ambulance and restrained her hands with straps
But Sgt. Scott Stewart from Morrow police told Fox 5 that ‘We have found no evidence to support that she was in fact drugged with GHB.’
They said they had viewed video that shows Franklin walking alone into the 404 Sports Bar & Grill and ordering several drinks. They added: ‘She had probably 3.5 drinks to 4 drinks, then a swig of a beer.’
Police claim CCTV shows Franklin had three ‘That’s a home run’ drinks which contain 40-proof Hennessy and Grand Marnier, a glass of wine and then a swig of someone else’s beer.
Video interviews with police shows the moment cops confront her with receipts and tell her she had more than the two drinks she claimed.
She replied: ‘I didn’t have five drinks… I had five drinks? I don’t remember having five drinks.’
When 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 said they could not find evidence of anyone tampering with her drinks and claimed a toxicology report had found cannabis in her system.
She became extremely upset at one point and turned on some of the medical professionals
At one point in hospital, Franklin called out for her mother
When interviewed by police, Franklin said she didn’t remember having five drinks
Stewart said: ‘She refused a blood test, but she did have a urinalysis, and it showed positive for cannabinoids, also known as cannabis.’
Sgt Stewart told DailyMail.com that the case had been ‘closed’ and the EMTs had decided not to press charges.
The 404 Sports Bar and Grill shared a statement saying: ‘We assure you that the safety and well-being of our patrons have always been and will continue to be our top priority.
‘The recent police investigation was an unfortunate and unforeseen event, but we are grateful for the swift response and thorough investigation conducted by the authorities. We are pleased to inform you that the matter has been resolved.