Former Kansas Police Chief Charged with Obstruction

Former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody has been charged with felony obstruction of justice for allegedly inducing a witness to withhold information following a controversial raid on the Marion County Record newspaper last year. The charge, filed in Marion County District Court, claims Cody persuaded local businesswoman Kari Newell to delete text messages exchanged between them. The raid, which targeted the newspaper's office and the homes of its publisher Eric Meyer and Councilwoman Ruth Herbel, was initially justified by Cody on suspicions of identity theft involving Newell's driving record. Special prosecutors concluded that no crime had been committed by the newspaper staff and criticized Cody's poor investigation. The raid led to the death of Eric Meyer's 98-year-old mother, Joan Meyer, who died from a stress-induced heart attack the following day. Cody resigned in October after being placed on administrative leave.