Small-town Kansas paper was probing ‘Gestapo’ police chief over sex claims before he raided it

The police chief whose “Gestapo”-style raid on a small-town newspaper has become the focus of national outrage was being investigated by its reporters over claims of alleged sexual misconduct.

Gideon Cody and every officer in the Marion Police Department stormed into the Marion County Record’s offices Friday with a search warrant and seized computers and servers.

They also raided the home of the editor and publisher, Eric Meyer, and his 98-year-old mother, Joan Meyer, the paper’s co-owner.

She died the following day of “shock and grief,” Meyer said, stressed and unable to sleep when police seized her computer and smart speaker, as well as her son’s cellphone and even his router.

He had answered the door thinking it was her Meals on Wheels delivery.

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The Marion County Record, published weekly, has served the rural communities of Marion County (pop. 11,712) since 1869, and until now had never been at the center of a national battle over freedom of the press.

But as First Amendment advocates spoke out against the raid, it emerged that the newspaper had been investigating Cody, 54, after receiving an “outpouring of calls” claiming he had retired from his last police post to avoid demotion over sexual misconduct allegations.

Cody joined the Marion County Police Department in late April after retiring as a captain in Kansas City, Mo., where he worked for 24 years.

Eric Meyer told the Handbasket substack that his outlet had been contacted by Cody’s former colleagues about the claims of sexual misconduct, but that the six-plus anonymous sources ultimately never went on the record and reporters couldn’t obtain Cody’s personnel file.

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The explosive claims — as well as the identities of the people who made them — were contained on one of the computers seized during the raid on the newspaper’s office, Meyer said.

“I may be paranoid that this has anything to do with it, but when people come and seize your computer, you tend to be a little paranoid,” Meyer told the Handbasket.

The Kansas City Police Department told The Post it could not discuss whether Cody had been investigated during his tenure on the force, citing the state’s Sunshine Law.

“This is the type of stuff that, you know, [Russian President] Vladimir Putin does, that Third World dictators do,” Meyer, 69, told the Associated Press. “This is Gestapo tactics from World War II.”

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A search warrant for the raid says it was issued over an allegation of “identity theft” by its reporters.

The claim was made by local restaurateur Kari Newell, after someone sent the paper and a member of the local council documents that showed she had a DUI, which would make it illegal for her to have a liquor license.

Newell also threw the Marion County Record’s reporters out of a public meeting held by a local congressman — which was attended by the police chief — and used a city council meeting to accuse the paper of illegally obtaining her DUI records, while admitting that she had a drunken driving record.

The paper never published her DUI details and Meyer denied acting illegally, claiming he believed they had been sent to the paper’s reporter, Deb Gruver, because of legal sparring between Newell, 46, and her ex-husband.

During the raid, Cody seized Gruver’s cellphone from her hand, injuring a finger she had previously dislocated.

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“We didn’t publish it because we couldn’t nail it down to the point that we thought it was ready for publication,” Meyer told the Kansas City Star. “[Cody] didn’t know who our sources were. He does now.”

Cody, 54, declined to respond to inquiries Monday whether allegations of sexual misconduct were filed against him while working as a Kansas City police officer, referring The Post to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. 

KBI spokeswoman Melissa Underwood said the agency started its probe early Monday, adding she had no knowledge of any sexual misconduct claims previously filed against Cody.

“As we transition, we will review prior steps taken and work to determine how best to proceed with the case,” Underwood wrote The Post late Monday in an email. “Once our thorough investigation concludes, we will forward all investigative facts to the prosecutor for review.”

Cody worked for eight years as a patrol officer in Kansas City before being promoted to sergeant in June 2007. He became a captain in 2014 before retiring from the department on April 22. Days later, he accepted the job as Marion’s top cop.

As well as law enforcement, Cody describes himself as “business and leadership oriented,” and at one time ran a company selling an anti-ramming vehicle system, Road Safe Barriers.

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Brian Karman, Cody’s business partner and colleague of more than two decades, said he knew of no sexual misconduct allegations against Cody while working for the Kansas City police.

“No, not to my knowledge,” Karman told The Post, adding that any accusations against Cody would be out of character for Cody.

“I’ve known him for 20 years. I’ve never heard of anything remotely involving those type of allegations.”

In a statement released Saturday, Cody’s department cited a criminal investigation in response to several inquires about an ongoing probe.

“The Marion Kansas Police Department believes it is the fundamental duty of the police is to ensure the safety, security, and well-being of all members of the public,” the department wrote on Facebook.

“This commitment must remain steadfast and unbiased, unaffected by political or media influences, in order to uphold the principles of justice, equal protection, and the rule of law for everyone in the community.

“The victim asks that we do all the law allows to ensure justice is served. The Marion Kansas Police Department will [sic] nothing less.”