Poll shows most Kansans support criminal charges against police chief who led newspaper raid • Kansas Reflector

TOPEKA — A new poll shows most Kansans believe former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody should be prosecuted for searching a newspaper office, an editor’s home and a city councilwoman’s home last year.

When asked to comment, respondents had some poignant words to describe the police’s actions.

They called the raids illegal, chaotic, intrusive, hasty, crooked, overzealous, crazy, wrong, unfair, unnecessary, unjustified and unethical.

“Honestly, it upsets me that this even happened,” one respondent wrote. “It was all public information, so it shouldn’t have even been investigated. It would make a local newspaper not want to investigate or report on things like this because they might end up getting arrested for something that isn’t even illegal.”

Cody led the police raids on August 11, 2023, after concluding that journalists and a city councilwoman had committed crimes by obtaining a public driver’s license document for Kari Newell, a Marion resident who operated a restaurant and a had applied for a liquor license. The raids violated federal and state laws and constitutional protections for a free press and against illegal searches and seizures.

Joan Meyer, the 98-year-old co-owner of the Marion County Record, died of cardiac arrest a day after police searched the home where she lived with her son Eric, the newspaper’s editor and publisher.

Newspaper employees and the city councilwoman have filed a total of five civil lawsuits in federal court in response to the raids. Special prosecutors who reviewed the situation cleared police of wrongdoing in the raids but accused Cody of obstruction of justice for asking Newell to delete text messages after the raid.

The Kansas Coalition for Open Government commissioned an online survey of 305 Kansas adults from Sept. 23 to Oct. 2 to get their opinions on the raid. The survey provided background information, asked questions and invited comments.

Emily Bradbury, a coalition member who also serves as president of the Kansas Press Association, said the poll supports the coalition’s position that the state should “prosecute those who staged the raids.”

“Eluding criminal liability for the raids when officers so brazenly misconstrue public records as private information is not only an ineffective punishment for clear misconduct, but also a green light for officers to avoid liability for the breach in the future.” “I don’t know any better,” Bradbury said.

Tennessee-based Coda Ventures conducted the survey, which has a margin of error of 5.6%. The online survey used a sample from Quest Mindshare, a research company based in Ontario, Canada. Quotas were established for age, gender, education, and geographic location with the goal of providing an accurate representation of Kansas’ adult population.

Of the 305 respondents, 54% were women, 32% were college graduates, 37% were married, 33% were Republicans, 22% were Democrats and 34% were politically independent.

The poll, which found 39% familiar with the situation, reported facts leading to the raids, including a journalist’s use of a Kansas Department of Revenue online database to verify a tip about Newell’s driving record.

In the survey, 67% said it was appropriate for the journalist to have access to the recordings and 14% were unsure.

The survey found that Cody investigated the situation and found that journalists and the councilwoman committed the following crimes: invasion of privacy, identity theft, unlawful use of a communications facility (KDOR), official misconduct, witness intimidation, interference with law enforcement, and Performance of an unlawful official act.

In response, 48% said Cody was wrong to believe that the targets of the raid had broken the law. But 41% supported his belief and 11% were unsure.

Only 23% said the raids were justified, while 63% said they were unjustified and 14% were unsure.

Half of those surveyed accused the special prosecutors of concluding that Cody should not be prosecuted because he truly believed that the journalists and the councilwoman had broken the law. And 62% said Cody should be prosecuted, while 22% said he shouldn’t be prosecuted and 13% weren’t sure.

The survey concluded by asking respondents: “Can you tell us what you think about the police raid on the Marion County Record and how not prosecuting law enforcement for the raids might affect a local newspaper’s ability to report independently and freely on local newspapers? community news?” and future events?”

The investigation was “poorly investigated,” “lacked patience or scruples,” “a sad abuse of power,” “overblown” and “a huge exaggeration,” they said.

“It’s scary how small town politics can impact basic human rights on such a large scale,” one person wrote. “The mere confirmation of a tip should not have led to such an invasion of privacy and then death. Cody just said he really believed it was a crime to hide in such a sensitive case. The lack of prosecution has only reinforced Marion County officials and government to feel they are above the law and due process.”

Only 14 comments supported the police.

They said “the police did a great job for once,” “they were within the legal framework,” “the reporter was just curious,” and “they had to investigate.”

“The allegations were believed to be accurate based on what was known about the facts at the time,” one person wrote. “To obtain the evidence, an arrest warrant is required. He followed the law. What matters is public trust in both law enforcement agencies and the accountability of the press within its constitutional rights.”