The township and its publicly funded insurer tried to use $37,500 of taxpayer money to buy the silence of a medical pot user who sued the police department three years ago for entering his home without a warrant and later arresting him for marijuana possession.
However, the township’s attempt to procure a gag order backfired after the parties found themselves at an impasse over the details of the proposed confidentiality clause, resulting in the entire settlement’s unraveling last month in a federal court ruling that has now been made public.
The case stems from an October 2013 incident in which the plaintiff, Scott Waselik, was stabbed in the chest by his then-roommate in the apartment they shared and then went to the police department to report the crime and seek medical assistance.
After he was taken to the hospital, police went to the home and arrested the assailant, who later pleaded guilty to the crime, in the backyard, whereupon they entered Waselik’s apartment without a search warrant and observed marijuana in plain view.
Although Waselik, who was 23 years old at the time, had a state-issued medical marijuana card inside his wallet, which he had left at the police station when he was taken to the hospital, police believed the marijuana in his apartment had been obtained illegally, in part because it was significantly more than the 2 ounces per month that patients are allowed by law to buy from state-approved dispensaries.
Police left the home without seizing the pot but obtained a search warrant the next day and re-entered the apartment, where they seized 74 grams of marijuana. A warrant was then issued for the arrest of Waselik, who was charged with possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia.