From what little sleuthing I have done on this, Kansas does require a written affidavit of probable cause or sworn testimony to be submitted to a judge or magistrate in order to issue a search warrant. In the case of oral testimony there are requirements that it be immediately transcribed by a certified shorthand reporter and made part of the application for the search warrant.
SOURCE
It appears the magistrate and chief and other officers just found themselves on the receiving end of a civil rights lawsuit.
Ummm - you do know that dead people can't sue for violations of their civil rights (or for any other reason, for that matter).
I wonder if the publisher will go after their qualified immunity and how much the taxes are going to go up in order to pay the judgement.
The publisher has to instruct counsel in order to sue. It is well established law that dead people are not competent to instruct counsel (even if they have left written instructions prior to their death and even if counsel is making exactly the application that the deceased would have been making had they not died).
I know this for a fact because I once acted for a person ["A"] whose spouse ["B"] had retained counsel after "A" had obtained an order against "B" in a divorce action and the lawyer ["C"] appeared in court purportedly pursuant to instructions from "B" to have the order set aside. Unbeknownst to "C" (but known to "A" and myself) "B" had been fished out of the river after jumping off a bridge deck that was 289 feet above mean water level the around 36 hours previously. Needless to say "B" was no longer in any condition to instruct counsel.
The application of "C" was called and "C" started making their pitch to have the order vacated.
I let "C" get as far as "This is an application by the Respondent to ..." before rising and informing the court that I had an objection to the hearing of the application.
The judge asked me what the objection was and I replied
"My Lord, my Friend has no instructions to bring this application.
My Friend is never going to get instructions to bring this application.
That is because my Friend's client is dead."
The judge asked "C" if that was true, and "C" had to admit that they didn't know.
The application was summarily dismissed (with leave to bring it on again upon proof that "B" had, in fact, provided instructions to do so [which, of course, never happened]).
"C" never did forgive me for that one.
It also brings up the question that if they violated these peoples rights and caused undue stress to the elderly person, can they be found liable her death the next day due to a heart attack?
OJ Simpson was sued by his deceased wife's family because his actions (more likely than not) violated the civil rights of his wife and by so doing caused his deceased wife's family "distress and suffering".
Does that answer your question?
Look for a really quick settlement (without admission of liability) of this one.