FRANKLIN — You may have seen him before.
During the pandemic, "Joe Lee the dancing cowboy" has been spending his days on Main Street in Franklin, dancing away in his signature short shorts and crop tops.
Resident Germaine Yarber says he has been dancing and riding his bike down the street for years.
"He has always been a dancer in our area, and everyone kind of just ignores it, but lately, he has amped it up a bit."
In the past week, "the dancing cowboy" posted a video to social media that shows him being approached by Franklin Police Chief Morris Beverly. Chief Beverly told him in the video that if the cowboy continues to dance, he will be arrested.
Franklin Mayor Eugene Foulcard released this statement;
Unfortunately while we are focused on reopening our community in Phase 1 of this global pandemic my office along with Chief Morris Beverly and his department have to address a frequent amount of complaints over the past few weeks of Mr. Segura’s lewd actions of “pole dancing” along our Main Street. Officers with the Franklin Police Department have confronted Mr. Segura on several occasions regarding these complaints. In a last effort to reason with Mr. Segura, Chief Beverly himself responded to the most recent complaint. Our citizens have sent numerous pictures of Mr. Segura (attached herein) to me, the City Council as well as the Police Department as they complain of his lewd and lascivious behavior toward them and their children. I support Chief Beverly wholeheartedly as he handled the complaint in speaking with Mr. Segura (photo attached) with the utmost professionalism and respect. Franklin is a beautiful, family friendly city and our citizens should be afforded much more respect than he has given them these past few months.
Many on Facebook have shown support for Lee, one user making this video:
Yarber says she used to enjoy seeing Lee, but, "It stopped being funny when it got to the point of underwear, not jean short shorts, now it's literally underwear."
She says they want him to keep dancing, just keep it PG.
"Nobody wants to get rid of him, nobody wants him to stop having a good time, we just want him to tone it down. Franklin is a sleepy city, all we're asking is it gets toned down," Yarber said.
------------------------------------------------------------
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
To reach the newsroom or report a typo/correction, click HERE.
Download our free app for Apple,Android, Roku and Amazon devices.
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox. Select from these options: Breaking News, Evening News Headlines, Latest COVID-19 Headlines, Morning News Headlines, Special Offers
