Video shows police raiding the home of a 98-year-old newspaper co-owner who reportedly died the following day.
The police raid on 98-year-old Joan Meyer’s home in Marion County, Kansas, in August allegedly caused her severe emotional stress. The following day, Meyer reportedly died as she continued suffering from the stress.
Footage showed six officers searching Meyer’s living room as she angrily told them not to touch her belongings.
“Don’t you touch that stuff! This is my house. You assholes,” Meyer told the police. “Get ’em out of here! They’re here.”
The footage shows Meyer slowly approaching the officers with a walker and demanding they leave her house.
“What are you doing over there going through my things?” she asked. “Get out of my way! I want to see what they’re doing. I don’t care what they’re doing. What are you doing? Those are personal things.” (RELATED: 98-Year-Old Kansas Newspaper Co-Owner Dies After Police Raid Office, Paper Says)
The officers reportedly confiscated personal electronics, computers and the newspaper’s file server. Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody allegedly injured reporter Deb Gruver’s finger after he physically grabbed her cell phone. Meyer was allegedly unable to eat or sleep after the raid.
The search warrant on her home related to possible identity theft and unlawful computer-related activities conducted by the newspaper, according to CBS News. The warrant also reportedly specifically mentioned a search for documents related to Kari Newell, a local restaurateur.
The Privacy Protection Act, a federal law protecting journalists and news organizations from unjustified search warrants, typically requires a subpoena instead of search warrants. Marion County District Court Magistrate Judge Laura Viar appeared to contradict that law by approving a search warrant into Meyer’s home.
Cody defended the raid saying, “the judicial system that is being questioned will be vindicated,” per CBS News. “It is true that in most cases, it requires police to use subpoenas, rather than search warrants, to search the premises of journalists unless they themselves are suspects in the offense that is the subject of the search.”
The Marion County Record’s publisher Eric Meyer compared the search to the Gestapo, according the CBS News.
“Our first priority is to be able to publish next week,” Meyer said. “But we also want to make sure no other news organization is ever exposed to the Gestapo tactics we witnessed today. We will be seeking the maximum sanctions possible under law.”
The newspaper reportedly investigated Cody’s alleged sexual misconduct prior to the raid.