Poll supports charging police in raids
Staff writer
A new statewide survey released last week indicates Kansans are split on whether they remember learning about police raids in August, 2023, on the Marion County Record newsroom and two residences.
However, they:
- Overwhelmingly agree, 67% to 19% (the rest undecided), that the Record did nothing improper in consulting a state website to verify a tip about restaurant owner Kari Newell having a suspended driver’s license.
- Narrowly agree, 43% to 41%, that city council member Ruth Herbel was right to bring Newell’s suspension for drunken driving to the attention of city officials when Newell was applying for a liquor license.
- Narrowly disagree, 41% to 48%, that police chief Gideon Cody was justified in believing the Record and Herbel might have broken state laws.
- Strongly disagree, 23% to 63%, that Cody was justified in conducting raids in response.
- Strongly disagree, 31% to 50%, that special prosecutors were right in declining to prosecute Cody for conducting the raids, charging him instead only with attempting to impede an investigation afterward.
In all cases, those who recalled learning about the raids were more likely to be among those thinking the paper had done no wrong (80%), Herbel had done no wrong (47%), Cody was wrong to have suspected a crime (67%), Cody was not justified in conducting the raids (79%), and Cody should have been prosecuted for conducting them (63%).
The scientific survey, commissioned by Kansas Press Association, was conducted Sept. 23 to Oct. 2 by an independent research firm, Coda Ventures, among a random panel of 305 Kansas residents, age 18 and older, selected to match state demographics.
The estimated margin of error is 5.6 percentage points.
A brief description of what happened was read for respondents who did not recall learning about the events at the time.
Each respondent also was asked to comment about the case.
Of 245 comments received, the vast majority (145) dealt with particulars of the case, generally faulting police for failing to investigate or overreacting, possibly with the intent of doling out political punishment.
An additional 29 expressed specific concerns that the raids violated constitutionally guaranteed freedom of the press and discouraged newspapers from attempting to provide reporting essential to a functioning democracy.
Only seven emphasized Newell’s right to privacy, and two of those still indicated the raids probably were wrong. A total of 33 responses were coded as mixed.
Comments included:
“The raid was an unnecessary use of police force and intimidation, which resulted in a loss of life.”
“I feel as though no one is going to want to report on community news and events now because they will be afraid of doing something wrong and having a similar situation happen.”
“The police are making it hard for the paper to do its job. The police broke laws and uprooted people’s lives and should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
“It seems like the newspaper was punished for looking into something.”
“I believe it will lead the Marion County Record to walk on eggshells over what could be truly important topics because they’re worried about the same thing happening.”
“It is a clear violation of the newspaper’s constitutional rights and is an egregious overreach by the police and the judge who signed the warrant. This sets a dangerous precedent for independent journalism.”
“I believe that anybody operating a newspaper in that particular county might feel a little threatened if they publicly publish anything that’s publicly available.”
“The attack on constitutional freedoms in Marion placed a spotlight on the inherent tension between journalists and the powerful people they hold accountable.”
“When law enforcement raids a newsroom, it threatens the integrity of the free press by intimidating reporters and editors.”
“Local newspapers that still actually report local news have become nearly extinct. Those that continue are more valuable than most people realize. We cannot allow authoritarian leadership or law enforcement to use their power to threaten those attempting to factually present the news if we expect to retain our democracy.”
“It was absolutely insane for a bunch of reasons. Accessing public information isn’t illegal. The fact that a judge signed off on these raids is also insane. All parties who authorized and conducted the searches should be jailed.”
“The cops should know the law of their jurisdiction and if they don’t, they need to be accountable for the consequences. Sounds like innocent people were subjected to all kinds of losses due to police negligence, and now they’re probably afraid to do their jobs as reporters.”
“This story has received too much attention and has been overhyped. The issue isn’t the driving records but rather abuse of power by public officials.”
“By giving the police a pass, the state invites more such illegal actions to take place in the future.”
“Police should be held every bit as accountable as anyone else, if not more. They should be setting the example. They rarely do.”
“It is scary how small-town politics can affect basic human rights on such a large scale. Simply confirming a tip should not have led to such an invasion of privacy and then a death. The lack of prosecution has just emboldened Marion County officials and government to feel they are above the law and proper procedure.”
“This whole thing sounds like small-town gossip and some facts that they were trying to incriminate someone who was trying to start up a business. Not all the facts are really here, so it is guesswork at best.”
“It was over the top. Too much into a small issue. Spend time and resources on crime.”
“All law-enforcement needs to go through better training to learn our constitution better. Anyone who fails to uphold what they swore an oath to do should be prosecuted to the fullest extent.”
“The fault here lies with the county attorney, who should have reviewed the warrant request, and the judge who issued the search warrant. No matter that Cody had a bad understanding of the law. That should have been addressed by the county attorney’s review and the judge’s review.”
“Cody is just an employee. Yes, judgment is involved, but who knows what he was told to do.”
“The police did a great job for once.”
“The police were doing their job whereas the reporter was just being nosy.”
“It was a witch hunt to start with, followed by some errors and misinformation. I believe the person at fault was the woman who managed to somehow access the records as a reporter and then blew the whole thing out of proportion and caused some well-meaning, average public officials to become the butt of this silly investigation. I believe she is a ‘sh–t stirrer’ with some type of personal vendetta.”