A former Kansas police chief involved in the Aug. 11, 2023, attack on a local newspaper has been formally charged with obstruction of justice.
Gideon Cody, who resigned from the Marion Police Department less than two months after the attack, is accused of encouraging a witness to conceal information in a felony case, according to the complaint filed Monday.
The charges come a year after the Marion County Recorder’s offices were raided, including the homes of publisher and co-owner Eric Meyer and City Councilwoman Ruth Harvel.
Mr. Meyer’s 98-year-old mother, Joan Meyer, who was also a co-owner of the paper and lived with him, was at home at the time of the attack. She collapsed and died the day after the attack, but Mr. Meyer claimed she died from the stress of the attack.
Joan Meyer, co-owner of the Marion County Record, swears at a police officer at her home on Aug. 11, 2023. Marion County Record
According to court documents previously released by the newspaper’s lawyers, Cody initiated a warrant search with the assistance of five troopers and Marion County sheriff’s deputies based on his belief that one of the Record’s reporters had committed identity theft by accessing a restaurant owner’s driving record.
The newspaper reported that the search was unjustified, and that reporter Phyllis Zorn had routinely used the state Department of Taxation’s online search engine to discover the driving record of restaurateur Kari Newell.
The newspaper began looking into Newell’s driving history after receiving information that he had been convicted of drunk driving in 2008. The newspaper said it wanted to know whether the conviction would prevent Newell from obtaining a liquor license.
Harvel had received a similar report of Newell’s drunk driving.
However, Marion County Attorney Joel Ensey dismissed the search warrant, ruling that “there is not sufficient evidence to establish a legal nexus between the alleged crime and the search locations and items seized.” He ordered police to immediately return the items seized.
Eric Meyer said his computer, cell phone and home internet router were stolen during the search of his home. Harvel said his computer and cell phone were stolen.
The two special prosecutors in the case announced plans to indict Cody last week. Sedgwick County District Attorney Mark Bennett and Riley County District Attorney Barry Wilkerson said in a 124-page report that the newspaper’s staff did not commit a crime.
Since the attack, several lawsuits have been filed against the city of Cody, its former mayor and other government officials.
A phone number left for Cody could not be reached as of Tuesday.
