Wladyslaw “Wally” Kowalski’s home was raided by police, his assets seized, his tools and generator taken away. He’s never been charged with a crime.
Police came to Kowalski after noticing his marijuana plants from a helicopter—but Kowalski is a licensed grower of medical marijuana. He consulted with his sheriff before building his garden, and sometimes gives his clients treatment for free when they can’t afford it.
Kowalski offered the officers his licensing cards, but they still demanded to see his home. He agreed to a search warrant, because he didn’t think he had anything to hide. He didn’t realize they would soon leave him financially paralyzed.
Police were able to take Kowalski’s property under civil asset forfeiture law, which permits law enforcement to seize property they suspect of being involved in a crime, without ever charging its owners with anything. The practice has become increasingly unpopular, with a recent series from the Washington Post exposing how police departments strategically seize cash to pad their budgets.
“My father fought the Nazis and fascism in World War II,” Kowalski told the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, “and I was just struck by the irony that my house was full of face-masked, jack-booted men with guns searching through all my belongings and looking to do me harm financially.”
“How can they just freeze my assets and leave me no means of paying my debts?” he asked.
Kowalski was also unable to pay his for his wife’s visa and travel fees from Africa, leaving her and her children separated from him.
“When they found my bank accounts here in my office, they let out a yell,” Kowalski recalled. “They said, ‘Here’s the bank accounts, we got him.’ It’s like the happiest thing for them, to find my bank accounts.”
When he asked why they were taking his generator, “they just went mum.”
Some police departments have come to depend on civil seizures, and train their officers to take things they’ll most profit from, like flat screen TVs. A New York Times investigation found officers being trained to take “little goodies” for their departments.
Another medical marijuana grower interviewed by the Center had his property seized over a year ago. Like Kowalski he has not been charged with a crime, and has yet to see his property returned.
After the Mackinac Center’s report, police unfroze Kowalski’s assets, but never returned any of his other property.
Watch the Mackinac Center’s interviews with both men below:
(h/t Reason)
