Kansas City Police Chief Charged w/ Felony Following Allegations of A Raid Violation

STATE & NATIONAL: Former Marion, Kansas Police Chief Gideon Cody has been charged with felony following a violation committed by the KCPD Chief during a 2023 raid.

By Anne M Erbynstein

The charges stem from a raid he led last year on the Marion County Record, a local weekly newspaper. KCPD Chief was charged in a Kansas City court with obstruction of Justice.

Cody is accused of persuading a potential witness to withhold information from investigators during the probe into his conduct.

According to the report filed by the KCPD, the raid, which took place in August 2023, sparked a national debate about press freedom

The investigation found that there wasn't enough evidence to suggest that the newspaper staff committed any crimes

However, Cody's actions, including allegedly instructing a local business owner to delete text messages, were found to have interfered with the state investigation