https://sputnikglobe.com/20231003/us-police-chief-abruptly-resigns-weeks-after-raid-of-kansas-newspaper-1113901859.html
US Police Chief Abruptly Resigns Weeks After Raid of Kansas Newspaper
US Police Chief Abruptly Resigns Weeks After Raid of Kansas Newspaper
Sputnik International
Marion County Police Chief Gideon Cody resigned on Monday, six weeks after he led a widely-condemned raid on a local newspaper.
2023-10-03T22:52+0000
2023-10-03T22:52+0000
2023-10-03T22:49+0000
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The police chief of a small town in Marion County, Kansas, abruptly resigned on Monday after his raid on the Marion County Record's offices and other locations garnered nationwide attention and condemnation.Dave Mayfield, who serves as the county's mayor, announced Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody’s resignation during a city council meeting. Cody was suspended from his position on Thursday, more than six weeks after the raid and following proclamations from Mayfield that Cody would not be punished until after the Kansas Bureau of Investigations (KBI) finished its investigation into the incident.There has been no word of the KBI finishing its investigation and Mayfield declined to comment on why Cody was suspended before his resignation.The August raid included the newspaper’s office, the owner’s home, a reporter's home and the home of the vice-mayor. All of the raids happened simultaneously and utilized nearly the entirety of the force’s on-duty officers.Simultaneously, a reporter for the paper was investigating Cody’s past as a police captain in Kansas City. Cody abruptly resigned from that position a year before he would have received his pension and took the police chief job in Marion, despite a $50,000 reduction in pay. The paper had heard from multiple sources that Cody was facing demotion before his resignation due to sexual misconduct allegations.The paper also decided not to publish a report on that because no sources would go on the record and the Kansas City Police Department declined to provide documentation, though they did ask Cody about the allegations.A short time later, the Marion Police Department conducted its raids, alleging the newspaper accessed the information it had on Newell illegally. The paper claimed it obtained the information through public information and the city eventually confirmed the information was publicly available online.Five days after the raid, the county’s attorney Joel Ensey withdrew the search warrant used in the raid, saying it was “legally insufficient.” A leaked email would later show Ensey was contacted by Cody about his plans to raid the paper, and which included his justifications for the raid according to local reports.Mayfield appointed patrol officer Zach Hudlin as acting chief with the approval of the city council. In bodycam footage of the raid, Hudlin can be seen searching a reporter's desk, where he finds a folder marked with Cody’s name. It's said the file contained details about the outlet's investigation into him, including the identity of sources. Hudlin can be heard informing Cody about the file in the bodycam footage.Cody eventually admitted he was facing demotion before retiring from his job in Kansas City, according to local reports. Bodycam footage also revealed him telling Newell after the raid that he had evidence to share with her but didn’t want to put it in a text message. Another portion of the video reportedly reveals him telling a deputy that he was having trouble turning off his bodycam but wanted to tell him a story once he turned it off.The paper’s owner, Eric Meyer, told national media after Cody’s suspension on Thursday that although he was happy about the result, he finds the timing suspicious.Meyer also expressed concerns about Hublin’s appointment, saying his actions during the search exceeded the scope of the warrant.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230815/chilling-story-for-press-freedom-raid-on-small-town-newspaper-sparks-first-amendment-concerns-1112600263.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230815/trump-ga-charges-loom-peace-activists-smeared-kansas-newspaper-raid-1112594244.html
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gideon cody, marion county, marion county record, newspaper raid, police raid local newspaper, mayor dave mayfield
US Police Chief Abruptly Resigns Weeks After Raid of Kansas Newspaper
The raid was condemned by First Amendment advocates including The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and Reporters Without Borders, among multiple other organizations.
The police chief of a small town in Marion County, Kansas, abruptly resigned on Monday after his raid on the Marion County Record's offices and other locations garnered nationwide attention and condemnation.
Dave Mayfield, who serves as the county's mayor, announced Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody’s resignation during a city council meeting. Cody was suspended from his position on Thursday, more than six weeks after the raid and following proclamations from Mayfield that Cody would not be punished until after the Kansas Bureau of Investigations (KBI) finished its investigation into the incident.
There has been no word of the KBI finishing its investigation and Mayfield declined to comment on why Cody was suspended before his resignation.
The August raid included the newspaper’s office, the owner’s home, a reporter's home and the home of the vice-mayor. All of the raids happened simultaneously and utilized nearly the entirety of the force’s on-duty officers.
The torrid affair began after a small local paper began investigating a local restaurant owner, Kari Newell. The paper had received information that Newell had been driving without a license for over a decade following a DUI conviction.
Newell’s restaurant was applying for a liquor license, but Kansas state law prohibits individuals without driving licenses from obtaining a liquor license.
The newspaper decided against publishing the story, partially because of concerns about the motivations of the source of information, but passed it on to the vice mayor and Cody for further review.
Simultaneously, a reporter for the paper was investigating Cody’s past as a police captain in Kansas City. Cody abruptly resigned from that position a year before he would have received his pension and took the police chief job in Marion, despite a $50,000 reduction in pay. The paper had heard from multiple sources that Cody was facing demotion before his resignation due to sexual misconduct allegations.
The paper also decided not to publish a report on that because no sources would go on the record and the Kansas City Police Department declined to provide documentation, though they did ask Cody about the allegations.
15 August 2023, 04:36 GMT
A short time later, the Marion Police Department conducted its raids, alleging the newspaper accessed the information it had on Newell illegally. The paper claimed it obtained the information through public information and the city eventually confirmed the information was publicly available online.
Five days after the raid, the county’s attorney Joel Ensey withdrew the search warrant used in the raid, saying it was “legally insufficient.” A leaked email would later show Ensey was contacted by Cody about his plans to raid the paper, and which included his justifications for the raid according to local reports.
Mayfield appointed patrol officer Zach Hudlin as acting chief with the approval of the city council. In bodycam footage of the raid, Hudlin can be seen searching a reporter's desk, where he finds a folder marked with Cody’s name. It's said the file contained details about the outlet's investigation into him, including the identity of sources. Hudlin can be heard informing Cody about the file in the bodycam footage.
Cody eventually admitted he was facing demotion before retiring from his job in Kansas City, according to local reports. Bodycam footage also revealed him telling Newell after the raid that he had evidence to share with her but didn’t want to put it in a text message. Another portion of the video reportedly reveals him telling a deputy that he was having trouble turning off his bodycam but wanted to tell him a story once he turned it off.
15 August 2023, 04:02 GMT
The paper’s owner, Eric Meyer, told national media after Cody’s suspension on Thursday that although he was happy about the result, he finds the timing suspicious.
“It’s long overdue. You know, we had to wait more than six weeks to get him suspended,” said Meyer. “It kind of leads you to believe that there’s some smoking gun somewhere that everybody knows about and we’re going to try to get ahead of it.”
Meyer also expressed concerns about Hublin’s appointment, saying his actions during the search exceeded the scope of the warrant.
Meyer’s mother, Joan Meyer, was the co-owner of the paper and lived with Eric when his house was raided. The elder Meyer, who was 98 at the time, died a day after officers raided her home from sudden cardiac arrest.
A coroner's investigation cited the stress of the raid as a contributing factor. An attorney for the paper told media outlets that they were considering a lawsuit.
Meyer was captured on bodycam footage telling officers that if she experiences a heart attack and dies, it would be their fault. “If I die, you’re going to be sued for murder," she said.
