Former reporter settles portion of her lawsuit over Kansas police raid on newspaper for $235,000

Photo taken by: Jan Hanna/AP

A stack of the latest weekly edition of the Marion County Record sits in the back of the newspaper building, waiting to be unpacked, sorted and distributed on Wednesday, August 16, 2023, in Marion, Kansas.

TOPEKA — A former reporter for a Kansas weekly newspaper has agreed to accept $235,000 to settle part of her federal lawsuit over a police raid on the newspaper that catapulted the small community into a national debate over press freedom.

The settlement removed the former Marion police chief from the lawsuit filed by former Marion County Record reporter Deb Gruver, but does not include two other officials she sued over the raid: the Marion County sheriff and the county attorney. Gruver’s lawsuit is one of five federal lawsuits filed over the raid against the city, county and eight current or former elected officials or law enforcement officers.

Gruver’s attorney did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment Friday. Attorneys for the city, his insurance company, his former boss and others declined to comment, but released a copy of the June 25 settlement after the Record filed an open-records request. They also provided a copy to The Associated Press.

Former police chief Gideon Cody led an Aug. 11, 2023, raid on the newspaper’s office, the home of publisher Eric Meyer and the home of a then-city council member who had been critical of the then-mayor. Marion is a town of about 1,900 people nestled among rolling prairie hills about 150 miles southwest of Kansas City, Missouri, and the Record is known for its aggressive reporting on local government.

At the time, Cody said he had evidence that the newspaper, reporter Phyllis Zorn and a city council member had committed identity theft or other computer crimes by obtaining information about the driving history of a local businessman. All of his targets said they had done nothing illegal and no charges were ever filed against them.

A federal lawsuit filed by Meyer and the newspaper alleges that the raid caused the death of his 98-year-old mother, who lived with him, the next day, and he and the newspaper’s lawyer have suggested that the raid was Cody’s response to the newspaper’s investigation into his past. Cody confiscated Gruber’s private cellphone and searched her desk; she had nothing to do with the driving record but was investigating Cody’s past.

The raid sparked nationwide outrage, and Cody resigned as chief in early October, less than two months after the raid. Legal experts said the raid likely violated state or federal law.