Former Kansas police chief facing charges for obstructing justice after raid on newspaper

TOPEKA, Kansas — An ex-central Kansas police head who supervised a invasion last year on a weekly newspaper has been indicted with felony hindrance of justice and is charged with convincing a possible observer for an inquiry into his behavior of withholding information from authorities.

The sole accusation against former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody claims that he deliberately or consciously influenced the observer to suppress information on the day of the invasion of the Marion County Record and the residence of its publisher or at some point within the subsequent six days. The accusation was lodged Monday in state district court in Marion County and is not more explicit about Cody’s supposed behavior.

However, a report from two special prosecutors last week mentioned text messages between Cody and the business proprietor after the invasion. The business proprietor has stated that Cody requested her to erase text messages between them, fearing individuals could misinterpret their relationship, which she described as professional and platonic.

Cody supported the invasion by stating he had proof that the newspaper, Publisher Eric Meyer, and one of its correspondents, Phyllis Zorn, had engaged in identity theft or other computer offenses in verifying the legitimacy of a copy of the business proprietor’s state driving record provided to the newspaper by an acquaintance. The business proprietor was seeking Marion City Council consent for a liquor license, and the record indicated that she potentially operated without a valid license for years. However, she subsequently had her license reinstated.

The prosecutors’ report concluded that no offense was committed by Meyer, Zorn, or the newspaper and that Cody arrived at an incorrect conclusion about their behavior due to an inadequate investigation. The accusation was filed by one of the special prosecutors, Barry Wilkerson, the chief prosecutor in Riley County in northeastern Kansas.

The Associated Press left a message seeking comment at a potential cellphone number for Cody, and it was not immediately returned Tuesday. Lawyers representing Cody in a federal lawsuit over the invasion are not representing him in the criminal case and did not promptly know who was representing him.

Police body-camera footage of the August 2023 invasion on the publisher’s residence displays his 98-year-old mother, Joan Meyer, visibly disturbed and informing officers, “Leave my house!” She jointly owned the paper, resided with her son, and passed away from a heart attack the subsequent day.

The prosecutors declared they could not indict Cody or other officers involved in the invasion over her demise since there was no proof they believed the invasion posed a threat to her life. Eric Meyer has attributed her death to the stress of the invasion.