Kansas police have come under fire after a controversial raid Aug. 11 of the home of the Marion County Record newspaper’s co-owners, Eric Meyer and his 98-year-old mother, Joan Meyer, as well as the paper’s offices. Security video released by the paper shows an agitated Joan Meyer interacting with law enforcement during the search of her home.
She died the next day, following stress over the search contributing to her death, according to Eric Meyer. The search was over an investigation into an alleged identity theft by Marion County Record reporter Phyllis Zorn, which involved her confirming via a state website that local businessperson Kari Newell’s license was suspended for drunk driving.
In the video, which you can watch above, Joan yells at police, “Don’t you touch any of that stuff!”
As officers rifle through files and seize computer equipment, Joan approaches one of the officers who has been overseeing the search, using her walker.
She questions him, “Did your mother love you? Did you love your mother? You’re an a–hole!”
Joan addresses the police chief, “Police chief? You’re the chief? Oh, god. Get out of my house.”
She also tries to get them to stop going through her son Eric’s papers and declines to tell them if there are other computers in the house.
The raid by the Marion Police Department of the Marion County Record has been condemned by dozens of news organizations, including The New York Times and The Washington Post.
“This shouldn’t happen in America,” the Kansas Press Association’s executive director Emily Bradbury told The Washington Post. “No matter what side of the aisle you’re on, everyone should be concerned [about] government overreach and trying to silence investigative work.”
Many believe that at least parts of this raid were illegal and may have been motivated by reasons other than the alleged identity theft by one of the nespaper’s reporters. The Record had also been investigating allegations against Police Chief Gideon Cody by both current and former law enforcement, according to the paper. Cody was being investigated in his previous position at the Kansas City Police Department for “making insulting and sexist comments to a female officer,” the Kansas City Star reported, citing police sources. Cody was appointed to the Marion position in April.