One ‘goat’
or a whole herd?
We used to have a saying in our office. Someone always was the “goat.” No, not the “greatest of all time.” Just the opposite: the person to be blamed for whatever ills came up that day.
Invariably, our “goat” was whoever happened not to be there that day. We suspect other offices work pretty much the same. It’s stupid. But it’s human nature. And we’ve tried to get rid of it.
Unfortunately, it seems to have come up in this week’s long-awaited special prosecutor report on the raids a year ago on our office and two homes.
Gideon Cody clearly is the “goat.” And, frankly, never was there a more deserving candidate for that title.
But, as is true in most situations, it’s rarely just one person who causes all the problems.
More concerning to us are all the people who now are scurrying to say they objected to what he was doing and wanted him to do a better job of investigating before resorting to raids.
It’s the job of judges and prosecutors and even sheriffs and police chiefs not to rush things through just because someone, somewhere, is impatient.
Whether it’s cops impatiently gathering to do a raid, supposed victims threatening to sue if something isn’t done promptly, or politicians wanting instant revenge on political opponents, in our democracy it’s everyone’s responsibility to stick up for civil rights.
And civil rights include being safe in your home or place of business from unjustified searches and seizures.
So, who, exactly, failed us?
■ Judge Susan Robson by refusing to deal with warrant applications on a flimsy excuse that, if carried to its conclusion, would mean she would have to recuse herself from virtually every case she could hear.
■ Magistrate Laura Viar by setting a speed-reading record signing warrant applications in Robson’s stead.
■ County Attorney Joel Ensey for not standing firm and following his profanity-laced instincts when he felt rushed to send search applications onward.
■ Sheriff Jeff Soyez for constantly trying to distance himself from the search but still playing a key role in determining where the searches would be conducted, providing officers to assist despite his stated misgivings, and encouraging undue haste in conducting the searches.
■ Investigator Aaron Christner for helping write arrest and search warrant application even though he said he might not agree with them and then for rejecting advice from Kansas Bureau of Investigation to have experts investigate before taking any precipitous action.
■ Officer Zach Hudlin for conducting only the most cursory and unprofessional of investigations before admitting afterward that he misunderstood and might not have understood more clearly if he had conducted a more thorough inquiry.
■ Marion’s City Council for not immediately suspending Cody and for appointing Hudlin to replace him as interim chief, despite Hudlin’s failings, including his abuse of the warrants to search for other things and the fact that the raids were based entirely on his flawed investigation.
■ Fire investigator Chris Mercer for submitting a demonstrably false after-action report on the raid, claiming there was a confession when there was none and claiming Joan Meyer didn’t know what was going on when in fact she did.
■ David Mayfield, mayor at the time, for egging Cody on by stating while Cody was beginning his investigation that he really wanted council rival Ruth Herbel ousted by being convicted of a crime, which Cody then went out and tried ham-handedly to do.
■ Council member Zach Collett for telling us to mind our own business when we attempted in April to point out problems with Cody that his former co-workers had alerted us to and for getting Kari Newell riled up against Ruth Herbel and (even though he had no reason to know it) the newspaper about Newell’s driving record.
■ Kari Newell not only for driving illegally for years but also for continuing to claim both in speaking to the council and in official statements to Cody that Herbel and the newspaper had “stolen” her identity when she knew full well who had revealed her driving record.
■ The citizens of Marion by tacitly siding with the raiders by voting Herbel out of office and thereby trying to silence the only citizen regularly willing to question questionable actions by the city.
■ Legislators Scott Hill and Michael Fagg and maybe even Congress members Jake LaTurner, Roger Marshall, and Jerry Moran for not clamoring to close legal loopholes that make ignorance and incompetence acceptable excuses for law enforcement officers to escape responsibility for their actions.
Individuals are important. Can you imagine any of this happening if Duane McCarty were police chief or Larry Starkey were sheriff?
Still, there isn’t just one “goat.” There’s a whole herd of them.
Monday, media outlets from around the world once again were seeking comment from this newspaper. The New York Times called. CNN called. CBS News called. The Voice of America called. The Associated Press called. The Kansas Reflector contacted us. All three Wichita TV news stations sent crews. TV stations from Topeka and Kansas City interviewed us via Zoom. Even People magazine reached out to us.
We attempted with all of them to portray Marion not as some hick town where police and politicians are neighborhood bullies but as a place where abuses of power don’t remain hidden, and America’s cherished liberties and freedoms are insisted upon despite challenges.
Whatever black eye Marion has received from all of this is the result of a whole herd of goats, many of whom behaved more like sheep in refusing to stand up to a rogue cop.
Don’t let them shift the blame solely to him. Join us at 2 p.m. Sunday for a commemorative program at Marion Senior Center, and let’s let the healing begin.
— ERIC MEYER