Chad Alexander, DA Mashburn Named In Lawsuit
Cleveland County DA sued by former assistant over mug shot fracas
by Andrew Knittle
NORMAN — A former assistant to Cleveland County District Attorney Greg Mashburn claims he was fired two years ago because the prosecutor wanted to distance himself from a controversy regarding the “wholesale” release of mug shots.
David Batton is suing his former boss in Oklahoma City federal court. He is an attorney who worked for Mashburn for five years prior to his abrupt termination on June 22, 2012.
Batton accuses Mashburn of working with political consultant Chad David Alexander to mislead the public about the district attorney’s involvement in a controversial policy that briefly ended the release of jail booking photos.
Alexander also is listed as a defendant in the lawsuit.
“Alexander and Mashburn devised a scheme to mislead the press and public to avoid any adverse publicity as he had done a number of other occasions to avoid adverse publicity,” Batton wrote in the petition.