After historic raid, former Marion County Record reporter settles her part of lawsuit
Following a historic and highly debated police raid on the homes of employees of the Marion County Record in August 2023, former reporter Deb Gruver has settled her portion of a federal lawsuit against the former chief of Marion County police.
On August 11, 2023, Gideon Cody — then chief of police in Marion, Kansas — raided the offices of the Marion County Record while executing three search warrants later found to be insolvent.
During the raid, Cody seized Gruver’s personal cell phone and injured her finger, according to Gruver’s original lawsuit. The suit alleges that Cody grabbed the phone from Gruber’s hand while she was trying to call Eric Meyer, the paper’s publisher, after Cody had served her a search warrant.
Police also took Gruver’s computer tower, as well as devices belonging to Meyer and Record reporter Phyllis Zorn, according to the lawsuit. The warrant was withdrawn five days later, with Marion County Attorney Joel Ensey citing “insufficient evidence,” The Star previously reported.
Cody resigned in October following the submission of Gruver’s lawsuit, The Star reported.
Gruver left her position shortly thereafter, according to The Record. As of the June 26 amendment to the lawsuit, the lawsuit no longer names Cody but still names Ensey and Marion County Sheriff Jeff Soyez.
According to documents obtained by The Record, The City of Marion agreed to pay Gruver $235,000 in exchange for removing Cody’s name from the lawsuit.
The settlement agreement, dated June 25, and obtained by The Record on July 2, included a confidentiality clause prohibiting Gruver from discussing the settlement.
Meyer has alleged the raid was motivated by “personal scores,” as the paper had turbulent relationships with Cody, Ensey and Soyez, The Star reported previously.
Raids related to search warrants filed by Cody were also executed in Meyer’s home, and in the home of Marion city councilwoman Ruth Herbel. Meyer’s mother, 98-year-old Joan Meyer, was upset by the search and died of a sudden cardiac event the next day, The Star reported.
The very first version of the suit only named Cody, according to court records. Gruver filed a motion to amend her complaint on June 17, according to case documents.
The three search warrants against The Record and related persons were originally linked to Record investigations into Marion business owner Kari Newell. After a Record reporter pulled information about Newell’s DUI record from a Kansas Department of Revenue website, Newell, who had reportedly been driving without a valid license since a DUI in 2008, claimed the information was obtained illegally.
Five lawsuits have been filed by Record employees since the raid, naming the city of Marion and various police and civic officials, The Star previously reported.
Eric Meyer, who filed the fourth suit in late May, said the latest suits are meant “to deter the next crazed cop from threatening democracy the way Chief (Gideon) Cody did,” The Star reported.
Record office manager Cheri Bentz filed a lawsuit on March 29, alleging that she was unlawfully detained during the raid and that her personal belongings were unlawfully searched.
Along with Gruver and Bentz, Zorn filed a lawsuit naming the City of Marion, Cody, then mayor David Mayfield, several current Marion police officers and the Marion County Commission. Zorn’s lawsuit alleges that Cody tried to convince her to leave The Record and start a competing paper, which he would fund, The Star reported.
At the time, The Record was actively investigating Cody’s career with KCPD, during which he was accused of misconduct, The Star reported. Zorn’s lawsuit also alleges that during the raid, Cody turned off his body camera and read through Gruver’s personal file on him, which she kept at her desk.
Attorneys for Gruver and Cody were not immediately available for comment Friday evening.
Reporting by The Star’s Katie Moore and Eric Adler was used in this article.
