On Tuesday, November 12, the District Court in Pruszków held the first hearing in the case of a former policeman who, together with another officer, transported teenage girls in a police car in Dawidy Bankowe. There was an accident and both girls were injured. The case returned to the docket after five months. The prosecutor and the subsidiary prosecutor requested that the criminal trial be closed to the public. The defendant's defense filed a request for mediation.
The prosecutor and the subsidiary prosecutor requested that the criminal trial be closed to the public for the sake of the victims. The defendant's lawyers have a different opinion, they argue that most of the media reports about the case so far were untrue and the information was provided by the injured party.
The accused wants mediation
According to Katarzyna Leder Salgueiro, one of the defenders of the accused policeman, a request for mediation was submitted. The accused must consistently propose it. – We believe that this is a modern method of ending the proceedings and is absolutely justified in this case. The accused would like to behave honorably, he still feels like a policeman, even though as a result of this incident he no longer works in the police, she assured.
– I think that this is also a measure that will allow the victims to obtain compensation, and at the same time protect them from this procedure, which, in our opinion, will not be easy for the victims – emphasized Leder Salgueiro.
What must happen for mediation to take place? Both injured parties must agree that they want to participate in this mediation. – We do not have this statement at the moment, also because one of the injured parties was not present today. If they agree, the court will appoint a mediator to discuss the terms of reconciliation, said the defendant's lawyer.
The injured parties have until November 21 to make a decision in this case. Another hearing will be held then, during which both women will be questioned.
“He pleads not guilty”
– The accused pleads not guilty in these proceedings and uses the right to defend himself. I want to behave honorably in these proceedings and want to compensate the victims for the harm that occurred as a result of this incident, said Leder Salgueiro.
She emphasized that this was in no way related to an admission of guilt.
The referee was questioned. It's not anymore
The trial of the former policeman was supposed to start in April this year, but it was postponed motion to exclude judge Aneta Bownik from adjudicating due to doubts related to the fact that the judge had issued a penal order in another case related to this one.
The District Court in Pruszków then considered the application and issued a decision to exclude the judge from adjudicating in the case. – This concerns justified doubts about the judge's impartiality. (…) Therefore, a new randomly selected judge and new trial dates will be appointed – said the former officer's representative, attorney Jolanta Turczynowicz-Kieryłło.
The defendant's defense does not currently question the composition of the court.
The policeman driving the police car hit a tree
The accident involving teenagers occurred at the beginning of last year. Police officers from Pruszków then received a report about a fire. Driving away from the scene of the intervention, they took two teenagers from the group that reported the incident to a police car. A moment later, in Dawidy Bankowe near Warsaw, a policeman driving a police car lost control of the car and hit a tree. The vehicle was wrecked, a girls injured.
Investigators confirmed that no official actions were taken against the teenagers, and they were supposed to get into the police car voluntarily.
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In July last year, the District Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw filed an indictment. It concerned exceeding official powers. “The indictment also included an accusation of an offense committed by Janusz R., which consisted in failing to fulfill the duties of a police officer by failing to provide assistance to women injured in an accident,” the prosecutor's office said.
The former policeman faces three years in prison.
What about the other policeman?
The second policeman involved in the incident was charged with failing to fulfill his duties as a police officer by failing to provide assistance to victims of the accident.
The prosecutor's office noticed his peripheral role in the incident and his attitude during the preparatory proceedings, which is why they decided to charge him an application for conditional discontinuance to the court criminal proceedings with the obligation to apologize to the victims and pay them compensation. The court agreed to this request and the proceedings were discontinued in October 2023.
Main photo source: tvn24