During a Friday demonstration outside the Constitutional Tribunal, Poland’s top constitutional court, police detained a 49-year-old man who directed vulgar and insulting words at officers. A court heard the case under an expedited procedure, found the man guilty and fined him PLN 1,500, Mokotów police announced.
Sr. Aspirant Marta Haberska of the Warsaw II District Police Headquarters said Monday that one of the officers approached the 49-year-old to calm the situation and warned him that continuing to insult officers could result in detention.
“Bystanders pulled the man away for a moment and calmed him down. But the 49-year-old approached the officers again and directed insulting, vulgar words at one of them. Because of his behavior, the officer detained the man,” Haberska said.
She said a small folding pocketknife was found in the man’s pocket during a search, and that he continued to insult the officer while being transported to the police station.
The man was placed in a holding cell, and his case was referred for an expedited hearing.
“The man admitted to the offense and apologized to the officers for his behavior. The court found him guilty of insulting a public official during and in connection with the performance of official duties. It imposed a fine of PLN 1,500. The time he spent in detention was counted toward the penalty,” the police officer said.
Warsaw police had earlier reported that three people who jumped over a fence and entered the grounds of the Tribunal were also detained.
On Saturday, police said that at about 11 a.m., one of the organizers of the assembly outside the Tribunal’s headquarters noticed a man whose face was covered with a balaclava.
When she asked him to remove it, the man struck the woman and ran off. Other participants in the assembly tried to catch him, but the 30-year-old broke free and kept running.
The man was detained by officers securing the assembly. He had a knife, a gas pistol that fires pellets and a badge reading “Security” that resembled a police badge in shape. Officers also found drugs on him. (PAP)
