Former Clayton County Board of Commissioners vice chair Felicia Franklin isn’t allowing the removal from her position to stop her from running for board chairwoman, and she also plans to fight back.
Franklin was kicked off the board after police released bodycam footage showing her passed out from what officers said was one too many drinks in front of the 404 Sports Bar and Grill in Morrow, Georgia, in September. Franklin fought against the implication that she was drunk. She instead maintained that one of the drinks she ordered was drugged. Now, she plans to sue the county.
“I want to share a deeply personal and troubling experience that I recently faced while attending an event here in our very community. 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,” Franklin wrote in a post on Facebook. “I believe it’s crucial to use this moment as a catalyst for change. 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.”
Morrow Police released the findings from a urinalysis test that Franklin took after she was taken to the hospital. It reportedly revealed she had alcohol and cannabis in her system but no signs of any other drugs. They report she had a few mixed drinks, some wine and a little beer the night they found her. They also said they never found any evidence to back up Franklin’s claim.
Despite calls for her to step down, Franklin refused to do so. After the board voted to vacate her seat, Franklin called her removal unlawful. Board chairman Jeff Turner defended the decision.
“The video spoke for itself. What more can we say?” Turner told WAGA-TV FOX5 Atlanta. “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.”
DeMont Davis was appointed the new vice-chair for the board. He said the board will have to work to win back the trust of the county.
“When things are caught on camera like that, we’ve got to begin to address it,” Davis said. “I think there had to be a change to regain some of this confidence.”
Before Franklin was removed from the board and after news of her night out began to make the rounds, she announced that she would be running to become chairwoman of the Clayton County Board of Commissioners in 2024. The details of the lawsuit have not been released.
Franklin shared a positive note on her Facebook page on Wednesday.
“Between a thousand yesterday’s and a million tomorrow’s, there’s only one today. So count your blessings, begin and end each day with hope, joy, love and peace,” she wrote.
