Victim of Police Forfeiture Who Told Story to Media Was Arrested Immediately After

Last week,
I wrote about Wally Kowalski, a resident of southwest Michigan
whose bank accounts were frozen, and property seized, during a
police raid three months ago. The Mackinac
Center for Public Policy publicized his case: Kowalski is
licensed to grow medical marijuana, and state cops had spotted his
growing area from a helicopter. They destroyed his plants and
confiscated his expensive tools (anything they would be able to
sell at police auction, he claims), but left without charging him
with a crime—leaving him unable to clear his name before a judge or
jury.

I headlined the story, “Cops Seize Man’s Property, Freeze Bank
Accounts—And He Wishes They Would Charge Him with a Crime.”

Shortly thereafter, police returned to Kowalski’s home in the
dead of night, woke him up, and arrested him. The Mackinac Center
has more
information:

He was handcuffed and brought to the Van Buren County Jail where
he spent the night in a cold cell without a pillow or blanket.
He was arraigned in the morning and released after posting $1,000
on a $10,000 bond.

The police charged Kowalski with delivery and manufacture of 5
to 45 kilograms of marijuana, between 20 and 200 plants, a 7-year
felony and/or carrying up to a $500,000 fine. He was also charged
with distribution without remuneration, a misdemeanor.

Kowalski carries a medical marijuana card for himself and says
he is the caregiver for four other valid cardholders. When police
searched his house on Sept. 2, they could not find two caregiver
cards. Kowalski says he lost the cards but did get replacements
days later and turned them over to the police.

Under Michigan’s medical marijuana law, he is legally allowed to
grow 12 plants per person. According to the seizure order, police
found 55 plants.

The Mackinac Center’s Anne Schieber told me there is no evidence
that either her reporting or mine triggered the arrest. According
to Schieber, Kowalski asked the police if his arrest was related to
the media attention. They denied that it was.

Still, it was an unexpected and bizarre arrest. Kowalski
had been told previously by the authorities that they would let him
know if they planned to file charges so that he could turn himself
in voluntarily. His attorney described the overnight arrest as
“unusual,” according to the Mackinac Center.

Watch Schieber’s initial interview with Kowalski below.