Overview
- County commissioners approved agreements paying $1.5 million to Eric Meyer, $650,000 to Ruth Herbel, $600,000 to Phyllis Zorn, and $250,000 to Deb Gruver.
- The sheriff’s office issued a statement expressing regret for its participation in the warrants in some deals, while other agreements included no such language.
- The accords grant the county and sheriff’s office immunity from further legal action tied to the Aug. 11, 2023 searches, with consent judgments expected in the federal cases.
- Insurance will cover most of the payouts, and the county will directly pay $50,000 to Meyer; the county also agreed to make Sheriff Jeff Soyez, Detective Aaron Christner, and Undersheriff Larry Starkey available for official interviews.
- Claims against the City of Marion and certain officials continue, and Meyer says he expects the case against the city to go to trial; the raid, led by the city’s police chief, followed a privacy complaint and Meyer has blamed stress from it for his mother’s death the next day.