Police chief dismissed over Taser death
PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea
22.05.2017 16:38
The Wrocław municipal police chief and two other officials were dismissed on Monday following the killing of a 25-year-old man who was Tasered by local police.
Photo: Piotr Drabik/Flickr.com
The man, identified as Igor S. (name withheld under Polish privacy laws) was brutally beaten by police in Wrocław, southwestern Poland, before being shot with an electroshock weapon.
The man died of his injuries shortly later. He was detained after being mistaken for a local drug dealer who had been issued with a warrant.
The incident happened last year, but news of the victim’s brutal treatment at the hands of the police only surfaced in the Polish media over recent days. The private TVN broadcaster obtained footage of the man being shot with a stun gun inside the bathroom of a Wrocław police station. The handcuffed man is shown sitting on the floor in his underwear.
A police spokesman said that Interior Minister Mariusz Błaszczak and police commander Jarosław Szymczyk had “lost confidence” in the Wrocław officials, which led to the dismissals.
Addressing a press conference on Monday, the police spokesman apologised “in the name of police nationwide” for the recordings, which were provided to local media by the police themselves, he added.
The case is being investigated by prosecutors. (rg)