A deputy who worked for the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office is no longer on the job following an internal investigation earlier this year into misconduct on the job.
At the time of his dismissal in April, former Deputy Todd Franklin had worked for the department for more than five years.
According to documentation provided by the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office, Franklin was assigned to a traffic patrol job for the Forsyth County Board of Education. Administrators complained to the sheriff's office that not only was Franklin inconsistent about showing up to direct school traffic, but also that Franklin had billed the Board of Education for hours he never worked. The investigation revealed Franklin called in sick on three different dates in January and February of 2020, but he billed the BOE for hours he never worked.
Investigators also searched Franklin's county-issued cell phone and said they discovered explicit images of a woman with whom Franklin apparently was having an affair. Also, investigators discovered adult videos when they reviewed Franklin's body camera footage; Franklin apparently had viewed the videos as he sat in his squad car while he was on duty, at one point discussing the download of the explicit material with another person on his phone. Franklin told investigators he was viewing the videos to discover if an underage victim was being used in the footage.
Following the month-long investigation, investigators determined there was cause to fire Franklin from his job.
Full media statement from the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office:
The Deputy in question was terminated for serious acts of misconduct that are not in keeping with the rules and regulations of the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office. A thorough investigation was conducted by the Office of Professional Standards, which found the employee to have engaged in serious misconduct.
In a day and time when so many Law Enforcement Officers and other first responders have excelled in their service to their community during a national crisis, that any employee would act contrary to the heroic work done by the nearly 500 members of the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office should never take away from the dedication the men and women of the FCSO show their community every day. When someone acts as this former employee did, they lose their right to work alongside those Deputies and employees who serve with such distinction and heroism daily. The Sheriff has made it expressly clear that unethical, illegal, or immoral acts will lead to termination from this agency; every employee has heard this directly from the Sheriff. There is no room for this conduct here, and the men and women of FCSO, as well as our citizens, deserve better.
