The film shows only a fragment of the intervention, judgments cannot be passed on its basis, emphasizes Wojciech Jabłoński from the Lower Silesian police commissioner about the intervention in Lubin, after which a 34-year-old man died. The prosecutor’s office conducts investigations into manslaughter and abuse of powers. After the incident, riots broke out at the headquarters of Lubin, after which 57 people were arrested.
We wrote about the death of the 34-year-old on tvn24.pl many times. On Monday, the Lower Silesian police addressed the matter extensively. Assistant Commissioner Wojciech Jabłoński from the press office of the provincial headquarters emphasizes that on Friday morning the policemen intervened after the mother reported that her son was aggressive and was throwing stones at the windows of the buildings.
– She reported that he has recently abused drugs. I emphasize that the policemen tried to calm him down. They tried to make him realize that his behavior threatened him with criminal liability. Unfortunately, the man was irrational, very aggressive and did not get through to the arguments – emphasized the policeman.
Police: you can’t see everything in the video
A recording of a fragment of the intervention has been uploaded to the network: you can see the policemen trying to overpower a man who is lying on the ground for a few minutes. He screams and leaps away. The two officers are joined by another, as well as a man in a white sweatshirt with a backpack (probably a plainclothes policeman).
– I urge you not to build an idea of the course of the event on the basis of this short recording. We also have other recordings and on this basis it will certainly be possible to draw certain conclusions – says the policeman.
Were the officers wearing wearing cameras? The spokesman for the police was unable to answer this question from our reporter. He promised to “check this information.”
On our air, the deceased man’s mother informed that the police had answered her phone because they knew that she had recorded the course of the incident. At the same time, she claimed that she had not signed any protocol, therefore she was afraid that the police wanted to conceal how the intervention was carried out. Assistant Commissioner Wojciech Jabłoński from the press office of the provincial headquarters – he does not know anything about it.
– If so, then we have another issue that needs to be clarified. I would like to emphasize that at no stage do we shy away from explaining all the circumstances. Two police teams were set up, one at the provincial headquarters and the other at the headquarters to clarify the case – said the policeman.
He noted that the officers participating in the recording had not been suspended because “there are no grounds for this”.
Police: He was alive when he was put in the ambulance
According to police, the man died two hours after being brought to the hospital. This information is – according to MP Piotr Borys from the Civic Coalition – untrue.
– This young person did not die after two hours in the hospital, but still in the ambulance. We do not know whether the appropriate methods of direct coercion were used – emphasized the MP.
How does the police relate to this? Chief Commissioner Jabłoński emphasized that the police communiqué was written on the basis of information received from the hospital by the officer on duty of the district headquarters in Lubin.
– It is not my role to say why other institutions are speaking the way they do. From my knowledge it appears that the policemen themselves called the ambulance and when they transferred the 34-year-old to the rescue team, he had a pulse and was breathing – emphasized the officer.
The investigation is ongoing
The District Prosecutor’s Office in Lubin was to inform about the details of the investigation on Monday. A press conference was called at 10am. Ultimately, the head of the local prosecutor’s office, Magdalena Serafin, came to the journalists and announced the cancellation of the conference.
– For the time being, we cannot provide any information due to the very dynamic course of the investigation – said the prosecutor. It only confirmed that the investigation had been initiated in the case of article 155 of the Criminal Code (manslaughter) and article 231 of the Criminal Code (violation of powers by a public official).
She added that a forensic medical autopsy of the 34-year-old was scheduled to take place on Tuesday. It is to take place at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Wrocław.
– We cannot comment on the causes of the victim’s death, because it will be possible only after the autopsy, and it is possible that only after obtaining additional tests that will be ordered during the autopsy. At the moment, we do not know what caused the man’s death – prosecutor Serafin said.
The head of the prosecutor’s office in Lubin added that the officers who participated in the intervention had already been interviewed.
– Monitoring and recordings of, among others, the headquarters, the Hospital Emergency Department and those made by witnesses of the event were also secured – she said.
Magdalena Serafin added that paramedics participating in the activities were also interviewed, medical documentation and material evidence were secured and the scene of the incident was inspected.
The Commissioner will examine the case ex officio
The Ombudsman will deal with the matter of the death of the 34-year-old and the police intervention ex officio. – The spokesman will apply to the prosecutor’s office and the police for all possible information – said Łukasz Starzewski from the Human Rights Defender’s Office.
In turn, the deputy of the Commissioner for Human Rights, Hanna Machińska, wrote on Twitter on Monday that the incident in Lubin reveals the lack of preparation of the police. “The death of a young man during the police intervention in Lubin is another case that shows the dramatic state of unpreparedness of the police to take appropriate action,” wrote Machińska.
Riots under the command: several dozen detained, six policemen wounded
Protesters gathered in front of the police station in LubinTVN24
On Sunday, a group of people gathered in front of the district headquarters in Lubin to protest against the actions of the police. Some lit candles under command, many protesters shouted slogans that were offensive to the officers.
Protesters threw eggs and stones at the facade of the headquarters building. At one point, a crowd of about 30 people began to storm the entrance to the building. Police officers used tear gas on them. In response, the demonstrators started throwing bottles, stones, and – according to the police – Molotov cocktails at the policemen and the building. Demonstrators set fire to the garbage can, which was extinguished by firefighters.
– 56 protesters were detained. In this group there were two minors who were handed over to their legal guardians – said on Monday morning tvn24.pl aspirant Krzysztof Pawlik from the headquarters of Lubin. Later, the police informed about another detainee.
He adds that six officers were injured during the riots:
– Six policemen were injured. In two cases, it was necessary to apply stitches. One of the uniformed – on the forearm – has eighteen of them – says the spokesman of the district headquarters.
Protest in front of the headquarters in LubinTVN24
The issue of the responsibility of the demonstrators will be investigated by the prosecutor’s office in a separate investigation.
– They will be responsible for such crimes as damage to property, violation of the inviolability of officers, directing criminal threats against them, as well as other articles related to the illegal assembly in which these people participated – says Deputy Commissioner Wojciech Jabłoński from the press office of the Lower Silesian Police.
The incident took place on Friday at Traugutta Street in Lubin
Main photo source: Marlena Najman