New video shows the moment police officers raided the home of a 98-year-old local newspaper publisher, who died the following day.
Authorities in Marion, Kansas, entered Joan Meyer’s house on 11 August, on a search warrant that was later rescinded.
Meyer died the next day of a cardiac arrest and her son, Marion County Record editor Eric Meyer, believes the stress of the raid contributed to her death.
In home security footage released by the family, Mrs Meyer can be seen dressed in a robe and slippers, and using a walking frame to stand as police search her home.
Mrs Meyer uses her Amazon Alexa device to try calling her son before turning her attention to the six officers in the room.
“Get out of my house, I don’t want you in my house,” she says. “Don’t touch any of that stuff. This is my house.”
“Didn’t your mother love you?” Mrs Meyer asks one police officer. “Get out of my way, I want to see what they’re doing. What are you doing? Those are personal papers.”
The Marion County Record, owned by the Meyer family, said the video begins one-and-a-half hours after police arrived at the home and ends when officers allegedly disconnected the internet.
The newspaper’s office and the home of a City Council member were raided on the same day after a local restauranteur claimed the publication illegally accessed information about her.
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A prosecutor later said there was insufficient evidence to justify the searches and removal of electronics – including a mobile phone and computers – from the house. The devices were returned on 16 August.
In a statement issued last week, the paper said Mrs Meyer was “stressed beyond her limits and overwhelmed by hours of shock and grief” after the raids.
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The Marion County Record also reported that the coroner’s report “lists the anger and anxiety [Mrs Meyer] experienced as a contributing cause of her death”.
The paper is planning to file a lawsuit over the raids. Meanwhile, the Kansas Bureau of Investigations continues to examine the publication’s actions.
