Emails exposed Kansas police chief trying to find a law to justify his raid on a local newspaper

Sarah K. Burris
October 1, 2023

Photos: Official police photo/LinkedIn and via Mario County Police Facebook page.

The Messenger has obtained emails exposing the Marion County Police Chief trying to invent a justification for raiding the local newspaper.

The news site filed an open-records request seeking the emails of suspended cop Gideon Cody as he searched for a law that would enable him to get the FBI to back him up on a wide-ranging subpoena.

Cody, who joined the force after he said he was retiring from the Kansas City Police Department, began his work in June 2023. The documents include all emails beginning at that time as well as messages sent between city officials that were attached to the emails.

According to the Marion County Record, the owners were raided over a "tip" that the newspaper was going to write about a local restaurant owner, Kari Newell, who was accused of having a DUI and driving without a license. The source said that the local police were aware of it and ignored the violation. The newspaper didn't write the story, but reporters used the Kansas Department of Revenue website to confirm information about the accusations, the Kansas Reflector explained. The KDR website is public.

Newell later "acknowledged the accuracy of the information and said she understood that coming forward with allegations about it might expose the information rather than preserve its confidentiality."

The reporter then told police about the allegations they'd received. They did not seek out the information; it was merely sent to them along with Marion Vice Mayor Ruth Herbel, who was also raided.

The police chief claimed that they believed the reporters were engaged in criminal behavior based on a "tip." That criminal behavior he alleged was obtaining the information from the KDR website he claimed was unauthorized and illegal.

According to the documents obtained, Cody was searching for ways to allege wire fraud among the crimes committed for the information. In an email to Marion County lawyer Joel Ensey, titled "Crimes?" Cody asks if the paper violated the Driver Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) by looking up the information. The federal law governs the release of DMV records.

"He told Ensey that his understanding is that the DPPA 'establishes guidelines and restrictions on the release, use, and disclosure of personal information collected by DMVs, including driver’s license and motor vehicle records' — and that, in his interpretation, the newspaper might have committed wire fraud by entering the business owner's information into the website, accessing her records, and selecting an incorrect answer when asked for the 'verification of your eligibility to receive the requested records,'" said the Messenger report.

"Obtaining a DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) report by falsely clicking on a reason for download, especially if done with the intent to deceive or defraud, could potentially be considered a form of wire fraud," Cody continues, according to the report.

The raid happened three days later.

The Kansas Department of Revenue released a statement after the raid saying it isn't illegal to access the records on their website.

See the text of the emails found here.