(The Sentinel) — In a case reported nationwide, hailed for its effects on First and Fourth Amendment rights and freedom of the press, Marion County has offered an apology and a settlement of $3 million to end a lawsuit filed by Marion County Record publisher Eric Meyer over a police raid on the home he shared with his mother, the newspaper office, and the home of Marion Vice-Mayor Ruth Herbel two years ago.
The Sentinel has done extensive reporting on this story with its constitutional implications since newspaper offices were taken over by police on August 11, 2023. The raid by city police was precipitated by a tip that the Record had illegally obtained the driving record of a restaurant owner in the city of 2,000 and planned to question the issuance of a liquor license to the establishment.
Marion County commissioners earlier this month approved the settlement obtained by The Sentinel from the paper’s attorney Bernard Rhodes.
Individual terms, according to The Kansas Informer:
- $200,000 personally to Eric Meyer, whose cell phone and two computers were seized, his house and desk searched.
- $250,000 to former reporter Deb Gruver, who left town after the raid, citing stress.
- $300,000 to the Record, which had its operations disrupted, and three computers and a file server were unlawfully seized.
- $600,000 to reporter Phyllis Zorn, who saw her cell phone seized and suffered aggravation of a previous medical disorder. She quit the paper after the settlement, citing continued stress working in the county.
- $650,000 to Herbel and her husband, whose dementia was aggravated by the raid on his home.
- $1 million to the estate of Joan Meyer, who suffered a fatal cardiac arrest the day after the raid. Video showed it greatly aggravated her. At one point, she shouted: “Get out of my house.”
- Earlier, a $50,000 settlement was paid to the newspaper’s business manager, who suffered aggravation of health problems.
As part of the settlement, the county sheriff’s department issued this apology:
“The Sheriff’s Office wishes to express its sincere regrets to Eric and Joan Meyer and Ruth and Ronald Herbel for its participation in the drafting and execution of the Marion Police Department’s search warrants on their homes and the Marion County Record. This likely would not have happened if established law had been reviewed and applied prior to the execution of the warrants.”
Legal action continues against the City of Marion and former Police Chief Gideon Cody.
