A former reporter for the newspaper in Marion has settled a portion of her federal lawsuit over a police raid on the newspaper offices last August.
In a settlement filed on June 25th, former Marion County Record reporter Deb Gruver agreed to remove former Marion police chief Gideon Cody from her lawsuit, accepting a sum of $235,000. Two other officials, the Marion County Sheriff and the county prosecutor, are still named in the lawsuit.
Gruver’s lawsuit was one of five filed in connection with a police raid on the Record offices. Cody said at the time that he was investigating alleged computer crimes involving a search of a local business owner’s driving record. No charges were ever filed in that investigation, and Cody resigned two months after the raid. Another lawsuit filed by Record publisher Eric Meyer alleges that the raid caused the death of his 98-year-old mother.
The raid touched off strong criticism from press advocacy groups across the U.S. and around the world.