Before raid, Marion police chief tried to persuade reporter to leave newspaper: Lawsuit

Former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody tried to persuade a Marion County Record reporter to leave the newspaper and start a competing news outlet — and promised to invest in the venture — as the paper investigated him, a federal lawsuit alleges.

Reporter Phyllis Zorn rebuffed the offer and Cody went on to lead a raid of the newspaper last August.

Zorn filed a lawsuit Tuesday alleging her constitutional rights were violated during the search of The Record’s newsroom in Marion, Kansas. Zorn names the City of Marion, former Mayor David Mayfield, former Police Chief Gideon Cody, Interim Police Chief Zach Hudlin, the Marion County Commission, Marion County Sheriff Jeff Soyez and Aaron Christner, a detective with the sheriff’s office, as defendants.

The lawsuit alleges “the defendants are co-conspirators in an unconstitutional effort to deny Ms. Zorn her rights under the First and Fourth Amendments to the United States Constitution.” It asks Zorn to be awarded $950,000.

Officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

On Aug. 11, police executed search warrants at The Record, the home of Joan Meyer and her son Eric Meyer, who own the newspaper, and City Councilwoman Ruth Herbel under the pretense that Zorn had illegally obtained information about the DUI conviction of local restaurateur Kari Newell. That information was later confirmed by the Kansas Department of Revenue to be open to the public.

Prior to the raid, the newspaper had been investigating Police Chief Gideon Cody’s background and his time with the Kansas City Police Department, which he left while under internal review for allegedly making sexist comments. The paper did not publish a story about the allegations because reporters could not confirm them, Eric Meyer previously told The Star.

Lawsuit allegations

According to Zorn’s 31-page lawsuit, the newspaper received many tips about Cody’s career with KCPD. When he found out that The Record was looking into his history, the lawsuit said he “suggested to the plaintiff that she leave the paper and start a competing paper in Marion.

He promised that he would invest with her and would enlist a number of others to do so as well.” Zorn laughed off the suggestion and “was moved to Cody’s enemies list,” the lawsuit said.

During the raid, Hudlin allegedly went through reporters’ purses and desks. In reporter Deb Gruver’s desk, he found a folder labeled “Capt. Gideon Cody.” According to the lawsuit, Cody is recorded on body camera footage as saying “Hmm ... Keeping a personal a file on me.” The lawsuit alleges he turned off his body cam and read through the file.

During questioning in the newsroom, Cody attempted to give Zorn a Miranda warning but “couldn’t recall the wording,” the lawsuit said.

Cody also gave Newell “a complete rundown on the status of the raids,” the lawsuit said. Previously released body cam footage from Cody shows him talking on the phone to Newell amid the raids before heading into a gas station to use the restroom.

Later, over pizza with Soyez, Cody said it “made my day” when he yanked Gruver’s phone from her hand. Then Soyez pointed out that Cody’s body camera was still on.

The lawsuit also alleges the officers took items that went beyond the scope of the search warrant and that Cody directed Newell to delete “flirtatious” messages they had exchanged.

‘Insufficient evidence’

The raid thrust the small town into the national spotlight and it quickly drew national concerns about press freedom. Joan Meyer, 98, died the next day from sudden cardiac arrest, according to a coroner’s report.

Five days after the raid, the search warrants were withdrawn after Marion County Attorney Joel Ensey concluded there was “insufficient evidence” to support the search and seizure. Items including computers, phones, documents and external drives were returned.

In late August, Gruver filed a federal lawsuit against Cody, who resigned in October. Hudlin was then named interim police chief.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation launched an investigation. Documents showed that the KBI had knowledge of Cody’s investigation of The Record prior to the search warrants. The investigation was later handed over to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

The CBI said Monday that the investigation remains ongoing.