By Jeff Lehr
jlehr@joplinglobe.com
MOUNT VERNON, Mo. — A former dispatcher with the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department has filed a defamation lawsuit against the sheriff and a local newspaper.
The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Springfield on behalf of Shannon Mitchell names Sheriff Brad Delay, the Lawrence County Record and Kathy Fairchild, editor of the Lawrence County Record, as defendants.
Mitchell, who lives in Arkansas, served as a dispatcher with the department for about six months before being fired July 29 of this year.
Her lawsuit alleges that the sheriff told Fairchild during an interview for an article in the Lawrence County Record that Mitchell was dismissed for violations of jail policy related to the July 25 escape of an inmate from Lawrence County Jail. The lawsuit states that the sheriff told the newspaper that Mitchell was on duty at the time of the escape.
The dispatch center for the sheriff’s department was inside the jail, and dispatchers performed certain duties related to the custody of jail inmates.
The lawsuit alleges that the sheriff’s statements to the newspaper were false, with respect to her dismissal being related to the inmate’s escape and to her being on duty at the time of the escape. Those statements were then reported in the Aug. 5 edition of the Lawrence County Record to the detriment of the plaintiff’s reputation, the lawsuit alleges.
Mitchell claims that the sheriff’s statements implied that she was “in some way responsible for and may have committed a crime.”
The newspaper reported that an inmate escaped, two jail employees were fired and that the jail had been closed, according to the lawsuit. But the plaintiff “was in no way connected to the escape of the inmate, was not on duty at the time of the escape and was never sought nor questioned about her possible involvement in such escape” by either the sheriff or the newspaper, the lawsuit claims.
Delay had yet to receive notice of the lawsuit when the Globe contacted him Friday. He said he could not comment on its allegations, except to confirm that Mitchell was dismissed for violations of jail policy.
There were two escapes of inmates from the jail in July, which led to the closing of the jail July 29. The escape July 25 was followed by what was characterized as “a riot” among remaining inmates, during which an electrical conduit was pulled down and a blackout took place inside the jail.
Numerous safety concerns — malfunctioning locks, destroyed cameras and a lack of lighting — were cited by the sheriff in the decision to close the jail.
Fairchild acknowledged to the Globe that her newspaper ran an article reporting that the sheriff said Mitchell was dismissed for violations of jail policy. But she declined to discuss the lawsuit in further detail.
“In as much as I haven’t seen the lawsuit,” she said, “I can’t comment on it.”
Damages sought
Shannon Mitchell claims damages to her reputation and employability of at least $75,000, and seeks punitive damages as well from the defendants. Springfield attorney Jim McNabb filed the lawsuit on behalf of Mitchell.
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