An attorney representing an embattled Kansas newspaper said a wrongful death lawsuit could be coming over the death of the publisher’s 98-year-old mother, who died not long after police officers raided her home in a controversial search.
On Aug. 11, Marion police officers, led by Police Chief Gideon Cody, raided the Marion County Record and two private residences, including the home of the paper’s co-owners. Marion County Record Editor and Publisher Eric Meyer said a signed search warrant, which was later withdrawn by the county attorney, indicated police were looking for information related to local restaurateur Kari Newell who has accused the paper of illegally obtaining information about her.
Footage released by the Record Monday shows Meyer’s mother, Joan Meyer, shouting at officers as they searched the home they shared. She died a day later. Meyer told the Associated Press he believes the stress contributed to her death, and the newspaper plans to file a lawsuit over the raids.
“We are exploring all options, including a wrongful death claim,” the newspaper’s attorney Bernie Rhodes told the Kansas City Star Monday.
What does the video show?
The brief video shows Joan Meyer standing with the aid of a walker as a group of officers search the other side of the room.
“Don’t touch any of that stuff! This is my house!” she shouts at one point.
She seems visibly upset, swears at the officers and tells one of them to stand outside.
“Get out of my house … I don’t want you in my house!” she said.
She moves closer to the officers and declines to answer questions about how many computers are in the house. She demands to know what they’re doing, and an officer tells her that they’re “working.” After an officer explains that a judge has authorized them to take certain items, the video ends.
The Record reported the video, one of more than 80 captured on her security cameras, “starts one and a half hours into police presence, which she found intolerable, at her home and ends at the point when police pulled the plug on her Internet connection.” Joan Meyer died of sudden cardiac arrest the following day, according to the Star.
Why did police raid the local newspaper?
Newell accused the Record of “illegally obtaining drunken-driving information about her and supplying it to a council member,” Eric Meyer wrote in an article about the incident.
According to court documents obtained by USA TODAY, Cody alleged in an affidavit that a reporter was “either impersonating the victim or lying about the reasons why the record was being sought” when she accessed the driving records. Cody did not immediately respond to a request for comment from USA TODAY Tuesday.
Rhodes previously told USA TODAY the paper did not break state or federal laws when reporter Phyllis Zorn obtained Newell’s record through a public state website.
Police seized computers, personal cellphones, a router and other equipment from the newspaper, but seized items were released after Marion County Attorney Joel Ensey withdrew the department’s search warrant.
Police department faces criticism as investigation continues
The incident has drawn nationwide backlash as several news organizations condemned the police department and experts in laws protecting the press slammed both the department and those who issued the warrant. Meanwhile, residents and local officials have called for Cody’s resignation.
City Council member Ruth Herbel, whose home was also raided, told the Associated Press after a council meeting on Monday that she agrees that Cody should resign. Herbel, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment from USA TODAY, told the outlet councilmembers would discuss the raids at a future meeting.
The ongoing investigation into whether the newspaper broke state laws is now being led by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.
Contributing: Kayla Jimenez, USA TODAY; The Associated Press