The police chief in charge of a raid against a Kansas newspaper resigned on Monday after being suspended. The Marion Mayor Dave Mayfield announced Monday at a Town Council meeting that Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody resigned from his post “effective immediately.” Mayfield, and City Council Member Ruth Herbel, confirmed Cody’s resignation to the Associated Press.
Mayfield suspended Cody Thursday, for reasons that were not disclosed to the public. The resignation of the police chief comes after he conducted a raid at a local paper’s office on August 11 and its publisher’s home to seize cellphones and computers. The raid on the Marion County Record caused outrage throughout the United States, and many critics deemed it a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s protection for free press. A local prosecutor stated that there wasn’t enough evidence to support the raid of the newspaper and publisher’s house. Meyer said to the AP that it took more than six weeks for him to be suspended. It makes you think that everyone knows there is a smoking gun and we are going to do our best to be ahead of the game. Mayfield announced that Zach Hudlin, a patrol officer, was appointed as the acting chief of police. The Associated Press contributed.