Raids revolving around a Kansas newspaper blamed for the death of the 98-year-old co-owner, have led to criminal charges against the former police chief.
On Aug. 11, 2023, the home of 98-year-old Joan Meyer and her son Eric Meyer, co-owners of the Marion County Record, was raided during the execution of search warrants that were later withdrawn. A day after their home, their business, and the home of former Vice Mayor Ruth Herbel had all been searched by the Marion County Police, Meyer passed away.
Now, the Kansas City Star reported that the former police chief, Gideon Cody, would be facing charges for interfering with the judicial process, but would not be held criminally responsible for Meyer’s death.
“It’s not surprising that fair-minded law enforcement officials would conclude that journalism is not a crime, but destroying evidence is,” the Record’s attorney Bernie Rhodes told Fox News Digital. “So I’m pleased that the special prosecutors realized that Gideon Cody is not a fair-minded law enforcement officer and that he should suffer the consequences for his decisions.”
According to the Star, an investigation led by Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett and Riley County Attorney Barry Wilkerson had produced 10,000 pages of documents toward the 124-page report.
The charges against Cody were said to regard text messages between him and local business owner Kari Newell that followed the raid.
In the days after police had searched the home, video was released showing the interaction between the 98-year-old woman and officers wherein she called one an “a**hole” and asked if his mother loved him.
“Don’t you touch any of that stuff,” she could be heard yelling as she used a walker to move about and interact with the intruders. “This is my house. You a**hole!”
Kansas newspaper owner screams as police raid her home day before she dies from being ‘traumatized’, son says https://t.co/uW4NjyrkOa via @BIZPACReview
— BPR based (@DumpstrFireNews) August 22, 2023
Following the encounter, Meyer was said to have refused to eat, sleep, or drink and ultimately passed away the next day. The report acknowledged that she may not have died had the raid not occurred but did not assert officers were criminally responsible for her death. Rhodes had conveyed that Meyer had described the police department’s actions as “Hitler tactics” before she died.
As had been reported, the raid was said to have been prompted when the Record provided information to the police about Newell’s DUI conviction instead of running a story about her driving her car with a suspended license.
While Eric Meyer informed the Star that it was too early for him to react as he was still reviewing the report, Herbel told the newspaper, “I’m sad that more people — more players — have not been charged because it went past Cody.”
“There were a lot more people involved in this whole process, and it’s caused a lot of damage to Marion and to the people who were involved,” she added.
The Star detailed that the chief had formerly worked for the Kansas City Police Department before leaving after allegedly making sexist comments to a female officer. He had reportedly looked through a reporter’s files during the Record raid and said, “What’s in this? Hmm, a file on me? Keep a personal file on me, I don’t care.”
Ultimately, the report found, “If Chief Cody harbored ill motives toward the Marion County Record, he managed to keep them hidden in personal communications with other officers both verbal and electronic.”
It also indicated, “It is not a crime under Kansas law for a law enforcement officer to conduct a poor investigation.”
The Record is suing the city, Cody, the mayor, the county sheriff, and other officials, alleging First and Fourth Amendment violations, seeking over $10 million in damages.
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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