Marion, Kansas – A recent investigation into a contentious raid on the Marion County Record newspaper has taken a surprising turn, as district attorneys from Sedgwick and Riley Counties have exonerated the newspaper's staff from any criminal activity - and say the police chief who led the operation broke the law by obstructing their investigation.
In August, Marion County officers, led by former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody, executed search warrants at the Marion County Record's office, the home of editor Eric Meyer, and reporter Phyllis Zorn’s residence. The warrants were based on suspicions that the newspaper staff had illegally obtained the driving record of a local restaurant owner.
The investigation revealed that the newspaper staff had not broken any laws. The district attorneys' report highlighted that the driving record, initially provided by a source, was accessed legally through the Kansas Department of Revenue's website with assistance from a department employee.
“Phyllis Zorn committed no crime under Kansas law when she obtained the driving record of Kari Newell,” the prosecutors stated. They also confirmed that Meyer had committed no criminal acts.
The report further clarified that the estranged husband of restaurant owner and Marion County Councilwoman Ruth Herbel, along with another local woman who passed the driving record to Zorn and Herbel, did not violate any laws. The driving record was publicly accessible, unaltered, and not used fraudulently.
Prosecutors criticized the investigative process leading to the raid, pointing out that Marion County officers misunderstood how the Kansas Department of Revenue website worked. The officers did not wait for the Kansas Bureau of Investigation's analysis before proceeding with the warrants.
The warrants were the result of a rushed investigative process that hinged on an apparent misconception by Marion County officers about how the Kansas Department of Revenue website worked, the prosecutors determined. The process included not waiting for the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, which had been consulted by Cody, to analyze the allegations before seeking and carrying out the warrants.
Prosecutors said there was no evidence that Cody or the officers committed crimes in crafting and executing the warrants because they thought that the law had been broken. -Epoch Times
"Put another way, it is not a crime under Kansas law for a law enforcement officer to conduct a poor investigation and reach erroneous conclusions," prosecutors wrote.
That said, they did conclude that Cody obstructed justice - for which he could be charged with either a felony or a misdemeanor.
Seth Stern, director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, argued that Cody should face additional charges. “The raid itself was criminal,” Stern stated. “And Cody is far from the only one at fault here.”
