Pantego deputy fire chief admits to driving drunk in city vehicle, arrest video shows

PANTEGO, Texas - FOX 4 obtained body camera footage and a 911 call the day a now-retired Pantego deputy fire chief was arrested for allegedly driving drunk in uniform in a city vehicle.

The arrest originally wasn't made public, and neither was this video until FOX 4 made an open records request.

The video is body camera footage from the July arrest of then-Pantego Deputy Fire Chief Robert Franklin. He was ultimately charged with a DWI for allegedly being drunk while in uniform and driving a city vehicle.

On July 24, 2024, a Pantego police officer found Franklin in his uniform allegedly drunk and slumped over the wheel of a fire department SUV behind the fire station. 

We’ll explain how it began.

A woman whose car broke down frantically called 911 to report a complaint about Franklin, who had come to assist her.

"I don’t know how to really explain it, but my car had broke down," she told dispatch. "And a firefighter, he came, and he helped me."

The stranded driver needed to pick up her son from daycare and told 911 dispatch that Franklin, who just so happened to be driving by in his fire vehicle, offered her a ride.

"He was super nice at first, I kind of felt like it was weird," she said in the 911 call. "But he was like flirting in the meantime… asked for my number. He was just flirting and just saying like inappropriate stuff."

The woman says they picked up her son. But she says Franklin’s driving terrified her, leading to her getting out of the truck and calling 911.

"He kept swerving and acting like something was wrong with him. And I asked him. I said, ‘Sir, are you okay?’ He was just like, ‘No, I’m not. I’m not okay at all,’" she recalled. "I don’t know if it was a game for him or something. I don’t know what he thought, but it made me very uncomfortable. And I just asked him to pull over. I grabbed my son, and I headed out."

This leads back to the police body-camera footage recently released. In the video, Franklin admits to drinking alcohol. 

OFFICER: "You do some drinking?"

FRANKLIN: "Yeah."

OFFICER: "You did? So what’s going on? Probably had too much to drink?"

FRANKLIN: "A lot."

The SUV had minor exterior damage, according to the report. Franklin denied having an accident.

FRANKLIN: "I didn’t hit nothing, dude."

OFFICER: "You didn’t hit anything? Do you know where the damage came from? Was the damage there before?" 

FRANKLIN: "It could’ve been."

Franklin was charged with DWI. Police documents reveal his blood alcohol content was .234, nearly three times the legal limit.

Franklin was placed on administrative leave but chose to retire, according to the city manager.

Franklin’s next court date is scheduled for October 21.

Franklin and his attorney have not responded to FOX 4’s multiple requests for comment. 

The Pantego police chief and city manager say will be available to interview about newly released footage and the case next week.