Jarosław Kaczyński described Friday’s police intervention at the Warsaw office of Adam Borowski as a “forceful attack” and called for a rally in front of the Constitutional Tribunal on Saturday. The Warsaw metropolitan police claim the detained man attacked a police officer and had a knife hidden under his jacket.
Post by the PiS leader
On Friday, October 16, Kaczyński wrote on X about a “forceful attack on the office of Social Ombudsman Adam Borowski”. According to his post, “windows were smashed” and Borowski’s associates were “roughed up”. He said that “violence and aggression are the methods of this government”. As Interia reports, he also called on “everyone who loves Poland” to attend a rally in front of the Tribunal building on Saturday, October 17, at 2 p.m.
Tomasz Sakiewicz of Telewizja Republika presented a similar version. He wrote that a associate of Borowski was taken away unconscious, in handcuffs. PiS deputy leader Przemysław Czarnek spoke of a “brutal attack” on the office, and Piotr Gliński compared the police to ZOMO, according to dorzeczy.pl and Newsmax Polska.
The Warsaw Metropolitan Police version
The Warsaw metropolitan police gave a different account of events in a statement on X. According to it, officers noticed a man near the assembly behaving suspiciously, who began to walk away. When the officers wanted to establish his identity, he allegedly tried to flee toward a building on Marszałkowska Street.
“Inside, the man behaved aggressively. He attacked a police officer, violating her personal integrity and causing a head injury.”
The police officer was taken to hospital. The man was subdued and detained, and during a search – as the statement says – a “knife hidden under his jacket” was found. The police added that “an attacker must not be presented as a victim” and objected to blaming officers before the course of events had been established.
TVN24 reports that the police officer was pushed against a glass door, and the pane shattered under the impact. The detained man reportedly lost consciousness for a while and regained it in an ambulance. This account would be consistent with reports of a broken window, although its course has not been officially confirmed.
Government reaction and the background to the Tribunal dispute
Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński accused Telewizja Republika of “vulgarly insulting Polish police officers” and said he would not leave this “without a response”. A caption on the station’s ticker read “This is not the police, this is pathology”. Jacek Dobrzyński, spokesman for the minister-coordinator of special services, commented that this contradicted the slogan “Behind the Polish uniform, a wall”.
The incident fits into a tense situation surrounding the Constitutional Tribunal. The conflict escalated after Maciej Berek took the oath as a Tribunal judge on Wednesday without the participation of President Karol Nawrocki. Tribunal President Bogdan Święczkowski did not allow him to adjudicate. Scuffles with police took place in front of the building; Kierwiński reported three people detained and motions sent to the prosecutor’s office.
What is still unknown
At the time of publication, the identity of the detained man had not been disclosed, nor whether he will be charged. There is also no official information on the officer’s condition beyond the fact that she is in hospital. It is not known who broke the window at the premises and how. The detained man is presumed innocent.
What it means
A PiS supporters’ rally is planned in front of the Tribunal on Saturday at 2 p.m., so disruptions and a greater police presence around the building can be expected. The further course of the case depends on the prosecutor’s findings and any charges against the detained man.
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