- Emergency services found Felicia Franklin lying passed out on the street outside the 404 Sports Bar and Grill in Morrow, Georgia, in September
- Police bodycam footage showed her being taken to hospital in a state of extreme distress, shouting at officers and hospital staff
- Franklin claims she was given a date rape drug, but police said there was no sign of this in her toxicology report
This is the moment Georgia county commissioner Felicia Franklin was found by cops passed out outside a sports bar in September and then her unruly behavior as medics tried to provide care.
Franklin was found lying on the ground by emergency services and was taken to hospital in an ambulance in a state of extreme distress. Body camera footage shows how emergency personnel had to deal with her shouting, combative nature and apparent inebriation.
In the days after the incident, she said she had been spiked with a date rape drug – saying she had had a ‘deeply personal and troubling experience.’
But police have contradicted her account saying there was no sign of the drug in her system and instead she tested positive for alcohol and cannabis.
Video of an interview with police a few days after the incident shows officers telling Franklin they had evidence of her having had five drinks, despite her claims of having only had a glass of wine and a cocktail.
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’.
She has been removed from her role as Vice Chair of the Clayton County Board of Commissioners after the incident was revealed. But she remains an elected official for the county.
Franklin had been attending an event on the evening of September 29, when police found her passed out on the floor outside the 404 Sports Bar and Grill, in Morrow., Georgia.
Police bodycam footage 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.
Staff 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.
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.
Posting on Facebook at the time, Franklin said: ‘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.’
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.’
Investigators said they could not find evidence of anyone tampering with her drinks and claimed a toxicology report had found 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.’
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.’
DailyMail.com contacted Clayton County and Franklin for comment.
