Kansas newspaper says it investigated local police chief prior to newsroom raid
The small-town Kansas newspaper raided by police officers on Friday had been looking into allegations of misconduct against the local chief just months ago, according to the paper's publisher, raising further concerns about the law enforcement officers' motives.
The Marion, Kansas police department confiscated computers, cell phones and a range of other reporting materials from the office of the Marion County Record — the sole local paper in a small city of about 2,000 residents. Officers spent hours in the newsroom. It also seized material from one of its journalist's homes. Eric Meyer, the publisher and co-owner of the newspaper, said his 98-year-old mother passed away the day after police raided her house, where Meyer was staying at the time. He said he believes the stress from the raid contributed to her death.
The raids sparked coast-to-coast outrage among journalists and advocates for freedom of speech, including a letter of protest signed by the New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN and the Wall Street Journal, among others.
"The U.S. Supreme Court, over the years, has said that people in authority — government officials — have to suffer a free press," says Sandy Banisky, a lawyer who taught media law at the University of Maryland's journalism school and also former senior editor at the Baltimore Sun. “Incidents like this have to be examined and exposed thoroughly to be sure that the kind of raid that happened in Marion, Kansas doesn't happen around the country.”
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2023/08/14/npr-kansas-newspaper-raid-police-chief-investigation
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