Kansas police department scrutinized after newspaper office raid

The Marion County Record office was searched by police after allegations of fraud were presented at a city council meeting.Photo byJohn Hanna/AP Photo

MARION, KS – A Kansas police department is being scrutinized by several news outlets after officers carried out a raid on a local newspaper’s office as well as the home of one of its owners. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press sent a four-page letter to Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody on Sunday rebuking the department’s action.

“Newsroom searches and seizures are among the most intrusive actions law enforcement can take with respect to the free press, and the most potentially suppressive of free speech by the press and the public,” the letter, signed by 34 news outlets, read.

The Marion County Record is a local newspaper that releases publications on Wednesdays. The paper reportedly published a story about a restaurant proprietor, Kari Newall, last Wednesday (Aug. 9) who was arrested for driving while intoxicated and operating a vehicle with a suspended license.

Newall accused the Record of illegally obtaining and sharing sensitive information during a city council meeting. She allegedly retracted her accusation but not before a judge signed a warrant that allowed officers to search the homes of the Record’s co-owner, Joan Meyer, along with the newspaper’s office.

“Based on public reporting, the search warrant that has been published online, and your public statements to the press, there appears to be no justification for the breadth and intrusiveness of the search —particularly when other investigative steps may have been available — and we are concerned that it may have violated federal law strictly limiting federal, state, and local law enforcement’s ability to conduct newsroom searches,” the four-page letter to Marion Police Chief Cody read.

Chief Cody expressed gratitude to other law enforcement agencies and the judicial system for helping his officers carry out the search and seizure operation.

“I believe when the rest of the story is available to the public, the judicial system that is being questioned will be vindicated,” Cody told CNN. “I appreciate all the assistance from all the state and local investigators along with the entire judicial process thus far,” he added.

Joan Meyer died days after her home was raided by Marion police. She was 98 years old.