A former Kansas police chief was charged this week in connection to a raid on a local newspaper last year.
Former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody was charged with felony obstruction of justice in connection to a raid last year of the Marion County Record weekly newspaper and the home of its publishers. Cody is also accused of persuading a possible witness involved in the investigation.
The single charge against former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody accuses him of knowingly or intentionally influencing a witness to withhold information related to the raid.
The charge, filed Monday in Marion County state district court, does not provide specific details about Cody’s alleged actions, other than noting they occurred on the day of the raid or within the following six days.
A worker at a San Francisco Chronicle printing facility arranges stacks of freshly printed newspapers September 20, 2007, in San Francisco, California. A former Kansas police chief was charged this week in connection to a raid at a newspaper publication in 2023.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
The former police chief said that the raid was executed because he allegedly had evidence showing that the newspaper’s publisher Eric Meyer and one of its reporters, Phyllis Zorn, committed identity theft and other computer crimes.
Last week, a report from two special prosecutors uncovered text messages between Cody and the owner of the business where the raid was carried out. The business owner asked for text messages between her and Cody to be deleted. She voiced concerns over speculation on their relationship, which was platonic, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
Cody accused the newspaper of committing computer crimes relating to the verification of the business owner’s driving record. The business owner, who was seeking approval from the Marion City Council for a liquor license, was found to have potentially driven without a valid license for years, according to records. However, she later had her license reinstated.
However, the report from the special prosecutors found that no crime was committed by Zorn or Meyer. The report also noted that Cody’s investigation into the newspaper and the business owner was flawed.
Body camera footage of the raid, which occurred in August 2023, showed Meyer’s mother, 98-year-old Joan Meyer, criticizing police and saying, “Get out of my house!”
Joan Meyer died of a heart attack the next day following the raid, the AP reported.
Prosecutors stated they could not charge Cody or the other officers involved in the raid with her death as there was no evidence to suggest they believed the raid endangered her life. Eric Meyer, however, has attributed her death to the stress caused by the raid.
Newsweek reached out to the Marion Police Department on Tuesday via its website for comment.
