New Video Shows Police Raid on Local Kansas Newspaper That Led to Owner’s Death

Newly released security footage shows that the police officers, who raided the Marion County Record were laughing and joking as they seized cell phones, hard drives and computers on Friday.

The police raid has been widely condemned by newspapers and journalists as overreaching and a violation of the First Amendment. In the day following the events, 98-year-old co-owner Joan Meyer died, after experiencing what the newspaper described as stress “beyond her limits.” 

In the video footage, police officers can be seen photographing computer passwords and carrying equipment out of the office. 

They were also making jokes about how to conduct the raid. One man remarked that he would “talk s--t behind the chief’s back, just not to his face,” which prompted the others to laugh. 

At one point, a cop says that he would “break a window” if it was necessary for removing the newspaper’s computer equipment. 

A second video shows the police reading a woman her Miranda Rights, in spite of the fact that she wasn't actually arrested or charged with a crime.

The Marion County Police Department claims that they raided the family-owned newspaper because they wanted to learn about how reporters obtained information regarding a local business owner’s DUI charge. 

The Marion County Record has disputed that claim, however, saying that they’d already informed the police that information came from a private social media tip. 

Publisher Eric Meyer said that while the Marion County Record’s first priority is publishing next week’s newspaper, they also plan to sue the police in federal court.

“We want to make sure no other news organization is ever exposed to the Gestapo tactics we witnessed today,” Meyer said, on Friday. 

“We will be seeking the maximum sanctions possible under law."