Fmer Kansas Police Chief Charged Over Raid of Newspaper
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| Joan Meyer, co-owner of the Marion County Record, swears at police officers in her home on Aug. 11, 2023. Marion County Record |
Cody used his five-member force and help from Marion County sheriff’s deputies to launch warrant-based searches based on his belief that one of the Record's reporters committed identity theft by accessing the driver records of a restaurant owner, according to court documents previously released by the paper’s attorney.
The paper said that the raid was unjustified and that its reporter, Phyllis Zorn, found restaurant owner Kari Newell’s driver’s record by routinely using the state Revenue Department’s online search engine.
Kansas Newspaper Raid Charge |
A former Kansas police chief has been charged with felony obstruction of justice after last year's raid on a local weekly newspaper that drew national attention and criticism from press freedom advocates.
The Aug. 11, 2023, raid involved searches of the Marion County Record's office and the home of its publisher, Eric Meyer, after the paper reportedly ran stories critical of a local restaurant owner. Former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody initially justified the raid on suspicions of identity theft and computer crimes by the newspaper staff, which prosecutors concluded were unfounded. Meyer said the paper was actively investigating the police chief for alleged previous sexual misconduct. Cody is being accused of persuading a potential witness to withhold information during a probe into his overall conduct.
The publisher's 98-year-old mother and co-owner of the newspaper, Joan, was also present during the home raid and appeared visibly upset in police body camera footage. She died a day later of a heart attack, which her son attributes to distress. |
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