MARION, Kanas – The Marion police chief, Gideon Cody, has been suspended for his raid on a weekly newspaper. The raid raised wide conccern as a violation of the First Amendment guarantee of the U.S. Constitution against government interference with the press. Mayor David Mayfield ordered the police chuef’s suspension but declined to discuss his decision. The raid put Marion, population 1,900, on the map and has resulted in a federal law suit against the city. The police chief had been irked that reporters for the Marion County Record had been digging through public records for background information related to him. He had been chief about a year. The raid was on the Record’s office in mid-September and also a private home.
FIRST AMENDMENT WATCH