Police chief who led raid on Kansas newspaper office resigns

The police chief who spearheaded a raid on a local newspaper in central Kansas resigned Monday, days after he was suspended from his role. 

Marion, Kan., Mayor Dave Mayfield announced at a town council meeting Monday that Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody stepped down from his position “effective immediately.” Mayfield and City Council member Ruth Herbel confirmed his resignation to The Associated Press. 

Mayfield suspended Cody on Thursday for reasons not made available to the public. The police chief’s resignation comes after he led an Aug. 11 raid on a local newspaper’s office and the home of its owner and publisher to seize computers and cellphones. 

The raid on the Marion County Record sparked outrage across the country, with many critics labeling it as violation of the U.S. Constitution’s protection for a free press. The newspaper’s editor and publisher, Eric Meyer, said the raid stressed out his 98-year-old mother enough to cause her death that weekend.

A local prosecutor said there was not enough evidence to justify the raid on the paper and the publisher’s home.

“It’s long overdue. You know, we had to wait more than six weeks to get him suspended,” said Meyer told the AP. “It kind of leads you to believe that there’s some smoking gun somewhere that everybody knows about and we’re going to try to get ahead of it.”

News of his resignation was first reported by the Marion County Record and the Wichita Eagle. Mayfield said patrol officer Zach Hudlin was appointed to serve as acting chief of police. 

The Associated Press contributed.