The former Kansas police chief who led a raid on a newspaper has been charged with interference with justice, special prosecutors announced Monday.
According to a report from Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett and Riley County District Attorney Barry Wilkerson, charges against Gideon Cody will be filed in Marion County District Court.
The two were assigned to review the Aug. 11 raid at the Marion County Record. The investigation yielded nearly 10,000 pages of documents.
The 124-page report analyzes the execution of search warrants at the newspaper and the fallout after the raid, which drew international condemnation. The expected charges appear to be based on text messages exchanged by Cody and Kari Newell, a local business owner, after the raid.
The homes of the newspaper’s publishers, Joan Meyer and her son Eric Meyer, were also searched. Joan Meyer, 98, died the next day.
The report acknowledged that Joan Meyer was extremely distressed by the searches and might not have died on August 12 if the raids had not been conducted. But prosecutors concluded that the officers were not criminally responsible for her death.
The warrant was revoked the following week by the local prosecutor, who ruled there was “insufficient evidence.”
Eric Meyer indicated by telephone on Monday morning that it was too early for him to respond because he was still reading the report.
Cody did not respond to a voicemail seeking comment. Cody, a former Kansas City police officer, resigned from the Marion Police Department in the weeks following the raid.
Following the raid, several lawsuits were filed.
This story is still in development and will be updated.
