The co-owner of a Kansas newspaper who died shortly after police searched her house cursed at Marion Police Department officers and questioned whether their mothers loved them.
Joan Meyer, the late 98-year-old co-owner of the Marion County Record. (Photo: The Gazette)
According to the article from NBC News, the August 11 raid on the Marion County Record newsroom and co-owner Joan Meyer’s home drew harsh criticism from free speech advocates, and Meyer did not hold back in telling authorities she didn’t believe they had a right to be there.
“Leave my house!”” Meyer, 98, told detectives repeatedly as she walked about the house she shared with son Eric Meyer, editor of the publication.
During the search, she confronted a cop and asked whether his mother loved him.
“Did your mother care for you? Do you adore your mother? “You’re an a–hole,” stated the late newspaper co-owner. “Are you the police chief?” You’re the boss? Oh, god. “Leave my house.”
Joan Meyer thought she was addressing Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody, but he was merely a few feet away, within earshot in the kitchen, according to the newspaper’s lawyer, Bernie Rhodes.
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Joan Meyer, a respected, longtime journalist who worked for the daily for 60 years, died the day after the raid from stress, according to Eric Meyer.
Newell accused the Record of “illegally obtaining drunken-driving information about her and supplying it to a council member,” according to Eric Meyer’s piece about the event.
According to court documents obtained by USA TODAY, Cody claimed in an affidavit that a reporter was “either impersonating the victim or lying about the reasons why the record was being sought” when she accessed the driving records. Cody did not reply immediately to a request for comment from USA TODAY on Tuesday.
Police took laptops, cellphones, a router, and other equipment from the newspaper, but the goods were returned after Marion County Attorney Joel Ensey revoked the department’s search order.
As the inquiry continues, the police agency faces criticism.
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